My Hero (Love) Story!
by Proof-of-Concept Author
Summary: Right after failing to get a single Villain Point in the U.A. Entrance Exam Izuku has an atypical encounter with a girl. Was their meeting mere happenstance, or was it the beginning of something more?
1. Cheesecake

**Chapter 1**

By the time Izuku had woken up from a bed inside the nurse's office of U.A. most of the other applicants for the Hero course exam had already gone home. That is why when the train came to the station, he was one of the very few among his age to board it. Not that he really noticed, because up to this point his body was moving on auto-pilot while his mind repeated the same words over and over again.

 _Zero._

 _Zero points._

 _Not even a single point._

Maybe if he had gotten some points, the sense of failure that invaded him wouldn't be so overwhelming. He could've convinced himself that he had given it his best and that he just fell short. But in the end he had gotten a big fat zero, and that meant he had completely and utterly failed.

It hurt. It hurt a lot to know he had fail in such a humiliating manner. But it hurt a whole worse knowing that he had failed not only himself, but also failed his greatest hero.

All Might.

The man who was number one hero in all of Japan and his personal idol since he was 4 years old. The man who had not only put his time and effort training him for 10 months in preparation for the exam, he also put his trust in him to the point of giving Izuku his quirk, One For All.

After all that time and effort, Izuku had betrayed All Might's trust and faith. He had no idea what to say to the man who gave him so much after such an abject failure. _What could he say?_ Heck, would All Might even want to speak with him anymore? Izuku wouldn't fault his hero if he decided to take away One For All from him, if that was even possible.

Izuku was so wrap-up in his own increasingly depressing thoughts he didn't noticed he started mumbling while staring into space with a vacant look causing his fellow passengers to notice him and subtly trying to give him some breadth, creeped out by his incessant murmuring. Thankfully at one of the stops, a woman shouldering a big heavy bag and a wailing baby on a carrier on her chest, bordered the train and the cries of the infant were loud enough to snap the freckled green haired boy from his creepy mutterings.

Without giving it a thought, Izuku was on his feet freeing the seat for the woman, who quickly took his seat while ignoring him, being more concerned with lulling her baby into sleep. Izuku didn't let this exchange bother him so much; the woman had much more pressing concerns with her wailing baby, that Izuku couldn't blame her for ignoring him. Besides, a hero shouldn't ask for a reward or recognition for doing the right thing.

 _The right thing._

At the end of the day, he had done the right thing, right? Back there during the exam, he had saved the nice girl from the gigantic robot that was the 0-Point Villain. He sacrificed the possibility of gaining some points in the exam in exchange of seeing no harm come to the girl, who in the end ended up rescuing him from a deadly fall. Even when he ended up failing the exam and would probably never see the nice girl ever again, he had done the right thing, right? That's what heroes do, right?

Izuku sighed. Even if he was convinced he had done the right thing in the end, that didn't help with the sense of failure that still invaded him.

Just as Izuku was about to start muttering and lose himself in more depressive thoughts, he noticed something from the corner of his eye, something that he would not have seen had he not stood up fro his seat.

Near one of the doors a man stood awfully close to a petite young girl who was wearing a middle school uniform. The closeness between the two could be explained by how full the car they were riding was, but what caught Izuku's attention was the blue cap and the long hair that help obscure the man's features alongside the folded newspaper on his right hand right in front of his face. It was as if this man was doing everything he could, save for wearing a mask, to cover his face at all costs.

Feeling suspicious, Izuku paid closer attention to the man and then he realized where the man's other hand was at.

For the third time that day, Izuku's legs moved on his own. Not even noticing the cries of the other passengers when he passed by, Izuku reached the man and forcefully pulled his arm away from feeling up the girl.

"GET OFF ON THE NEXT STATION!" Izuku shouted with unexpected conviction. The molester yelped in pain before trying to pull back his arm, yet despite the size difference Izuku managed to hold onto him; the 10 month training he received from from All Might helped him restrain the older male.

As the molester struggled against the younger boy's arm hold, the petite girl turned around to take a good look at her savior. Noticing this, Izuku turned his eyes from the molester to the girl only to be caught off-guard by the biggest, most beautiful amber eyes he had ever seen in his life.

"Thank you…" the girl said, her voice filled with gratitude.

Despite being two simple words, the sheer gratefulness and acknowledgment they carried was enough to shock Izuki still. Never before had someone been so grateful or acknowledge him in such manner. Was this how heroes felt whenever someone thank them? If so, then Izuku gained a new perspective for what it meant to be a hero and why they sought to be popular. Because to his young heart, it was one of the best feelings in the world.

Unfortunately the blissful spell in which he had been caught was broken when the train sound system announced the next stop. Izuku, shook his head and kept his firm hold on the molester's arm and waited for the doors to open up.

"Kid! Let me go! I didn't do nothing wrong!" The older male kept on struggling as they exited the train, yet his skinny build couldn't help him break free from the shorter and younger boy.

"The Station Attendant Office must be around somewhere." Izuku said while ignoring the lowlife who preyed on younger girls, reprobate men like him didn't deserved a proper retort.

"You can't hand me in!" The man continued talking ,trying to weasel out of his current predicament. "They'll know you used your Quirk to detain me and you'll be in trouble." It was true, in their society where everyone had a superpower, there was a very strict law that prohibited the use of one's Quirk in public areas, with the only exception being heroes and people with provisional licenses. This rule was strictly enforced, otherwise everyone would go wild with their Quirks and with how destructive some of them can be, it would be pandemonium. And even if one used their Quirk for something noble, it was still against the law, and the police could brand you as a vigilante.

"I didn't use my Quirk." Izuku answered back showing no worry whatsoever as he pushed the man around, still feeling somewhat high from his sudden rise to action. The law against "viglilanteism" prohibited unlicensed people from using their Quirks to stop criminals, yet the law didn't cover vigilante acts committed WITHOUT using Quirks. So in the end izuku wasn't breaking any laws at all.

"Even if that were true, do you think the police would believe a brat like you can detain someone like me without one?" The man almost shouted, calling bullcrap on the boy's claim. He was an adult for pete's sake and the little brat was most likely just a middle schooler.

"I'll let them decide." Again, he wasn't worried, because even if they called his mom or his school to ask about him, the police would only hear who he was but a Quirkless boy, completely unaware that he received All Might's Quirk earlier than morning. "Besides, why haven't you tried to use your Quirk to escape yet?"

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" And with that final bark, the man fell silent. Only grunting when trying and failing to fight against the boy's hold.

Izuku figured that the man possessed a very non-threatening Quirk like many other people who didn't or couldn't become heroes despite being the most desirable career choice, or he was by some strange coincidence Quirkless like he was before that very morning. Izuku feel somewhat nauseated by the later, he didn't want to think that someone that was born Quirkless like him could commit such a heinous act.

To Izuku's favor, he didn't have to dwell on such thoughts very long, because he had found what he was looking for, the Station Attendant Office. They would take care of this man.

(—)

"We are gonna let you go."

Izuku was aghast. Even after explaining the whole situation and having a police officer come and later call his mom to verify that he did not possessed a Quirk, his gain of one being a surprise he had for his mother AFTER coming home from the exams, they were just gonna le the molester go unpunished.

"I told you, I didn't do anything!" The man proclaim indignant, secretly celebrating his acquittal. "Just this crazy kid, acting like some sort of vigilante."

Lack of evidence was the reason why.

Because Izuku was no certified hero or had a provisional license, that meant his word alone meant squat and the man was free to go with not even a slap on the wrist. In fact, it was Izuku who was being admonished before being sent home with a warning.

So much for doing the right thing.

"T-that man was feeling me up!" A voice suddenly said and everyone inside the Station Attendant Office, including Izuku, turn to look at the new arrival only to find the same petite girl from back on the train. Just how long had she been standing there hearing them talk about letting go the man who molested her. "And this person saved me!" She declared as she walked up and stood next to Izuku.

In turn Izuku was moved by her words and actions. Not only did she acknowledged him and thanked him, now she was standing up for him and confessing on the man's lewd actions despite the embarrassment and the social stigma that may follow her for her testimony. To say his eyes were feeling watery for how moved he was, was an understatement.

"This is some sort of ploy!" Still the brave actions of the girl didn't deterred the sleazeball from trying to escape his rightful punishment. "I mean, she just happened to appear just as I was about to let go, that's very suspicious!" This casted doubt over the girl's sudden and convenient confession. "I mean look at her, are we to believe her when she is wearing such a short skirt!" He pointed at her making her flinch in unexpected shame and causing her to turn red and her eyes moisten. "It's like she is begging to be touched like…!"

The man couldn't finish his tirade to shame his victim thanks to a very fast and mighty fist to his face courtesy of Izuku.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" He shouted in rightful fury. How dare he! How dare this repulsive creep say something so vile against this poor girl! Not only did he molest her, he was trying to put the blame of such loathsome act on her. "APOLOGIZE TO HER RIGHT NOW!"

After such a loud outburst, Izuku took several deep breathes of air trying to slow down the beating drum that was his heart at the moment, and then after calming down a bit he realized how eerily silent the whole place felt. He just needed to take a quick glance at the look the police officer was giving him to know his screwed he was.

Uh-oh.

(—)

And so Izuku got suspended from school for a week.

Which will cost him greatly since that meant a week of missed lessons and Third Term Final Exams were a month away, and being the social pariah that he was thanks to his Quirkless status, there wasn't anyone who would lend him their class notes from the lessons he missed.

Then again, the Third Terms Finals were a simple formality for those who were planning to go to a Hero school. Finals only mattered for those wanting a great final grade for schools that taught normal curriculum. So Izuku shouldn't worry too much since he apply to the Hero Course in U.A. and… oh!… that's right…

 _Zero Points._

Maybe he should worry about his Third Term Finals, just in case he needed to apply for a High School of General Education.

 **Knock knock.**

Snapping out of his thoughts, Izuku turn from his chair in front of his computer desk towards the door of his room.

"Izuku, are you alright?" His mom asked from the other side of the door.

"Y-Yes mom… I'm a-alright!"

"Just checking…" She tried to played it off as casual, but she couldn't help herself. "If there's anything in your mind, you know you can talk to me about it." Deep down she always worried about her only son.

"Y-Yes mom, I-I know…" If there was anything he hated was making his mom worry for him. She already had too much in her plate working all day to support the two of them, she didn't deserved the stress that failure of a son like him caused. Specially after she received a call from the police telling her about what he had done. Thankfully she didn't faint on the spot after hearing the news, but there was a lot of crying and wet tissues after she had to pick him up from the police booth he was being detained.

Luckily for Izuku the worst thing that happened to him was his suspension from school. He wasn't going to be branded a vigilante or a villain for the "assault" since he just punched the guy and hadn't used a Quirk, and it helped that the one he punched was an adult man and he was still a minor. Not to mention the reason behind the punch being in the defense of a young girl's honor and her confession of being molested by the man prevented Izuku from spending the night behind bars or having the incident marked as an entry on a criminal record.

Suffice to say, he got out with a pretty lax punishment all things considered. Even his mom hadn't deemed it necessary to even ground him since she believed he had been "punished enough" and that he had learned his lesson. The only thing she asked of him was to never do something like this again.

It's not like he planned on hitting the man's face in the first place. It had been a "spur of the moment" kind of reaction. It wasn't like him at all to snap the way he did back then. Maybe the stress of the entrance exam plus the sense of utter loss after, most likely, failing the exam and the disgust he felt for the man trying to shame the poor girl, all of it combined and started a chain reaction that resulted in such an explosive result.

Good thing that he hadn't accidentally used his newly acquired Quirk on the guy or Izuku would've definitely be branded a villain and thrown to jail.

Izuku just sighed and turned back to his computer. Despite the fact that he should be studying he instead was visiting All Might's homepage musing over whether or not he should write him a letter, apologizing about his utter failure at the entrance exam.

Frankly he was scared of what his idol would say in response, and what would feel worse: his anger? or his disappointment?

Izuku stared blankly at the computer screen in front of him, his hands trembling as the hover over the keyboard, not a single word of his hypothetical apology letter typed down. He remained like that for a whole minute, and probably more had it not been for his mother who opened the door and barged into his room without even knocking first.

"Iz…Izuku! Izuku!" She called for him sounding way more frantic than usual. For a second, he worried something horrible had just happened, but before he could even ask what was wrong, his mother continued. "T-There is a girl here looking for you! Her name is Yamato-san! Can I let her in?!"

"S-Sure…" Izuku answered out of reflex before he actually thought over what his mom just told him. A girl? What would a girl be looking for him? Was it someone from school who was sent to deliver him the homework for the day he missed? That was the most reasonable explanation, but he didn't recall someone from his class named Yamato. Even if he didn't even say a single word to any of the girls in his class, he was well aware of their names. Just who was this girl coming to see him in his room?

Wait! His Room?!

Was his room adequate to let a girl in? Looking around, there wasn't any trash on the floor or anything that looked overly messy, but his room was filled with All Might merchandize all over. If a girl saw this, they would label him an even bigger Otaku than her was already known for!

"P-Please tell her to wait a minute!" Izuku called out as he made a grab to a 30cm figure of All Might he had on his desk, looking around for more stuff to grab and where he could hide them for the time being.

"Um, actually…" A soft voiced made itself known, attesting that his attempt was all for naught. "I'm already here though…" Izuku turned to face the newly arrived girl only to stop in shock when he found the petite girl he had helped the day before. Being too distracted by this revelation, he didn't noticed the shy look on her face as she gave him a short and small bow. "Thank you so much again, for what you did for me yesterday…"

There she was again, acknowledging him with those big, expressive eyes a of her showing deep appreciating and gratitude. And once again Izuku felt like he was on cloud nine, floating without any burdens to keep him grounded unto a cold, unfeeling ground. He could almost swore his vision turn a shade of pink, brightening his whole room while just a single phrase passed through his mind.

 _'_ _She is so cute.'_

His state of near-Nirvana receded when the girl, now known as Yamato, spoke again bringing to his attention a bag she was carrying. "Ah. Here. I brought this for you… There's enough for a few people, so…"

Turns out that Yamato had brought cake, cheesecake if Izuku wasn't mistaken, as a thank you offering for having help her. Such deed was one of the nicest things anyone, besides his mother of course, had ever done for him in his entire life. It moved him so much he felt he was about to burst out crying out of pure happiness.

Mistaking the look on his face, Yamato started fidgeting thinking she had committed some sort of mistake. "Do you not like it…? Or was it creepy of me to just show up out of the blue like this?" Making the boy who saved her uncomfortable was the last thing she wanted. She continued talking getting progressively more and more nervous. "Sorry! I asked the station attendant yesterday about you and…"

Finally noticing that his reaction was upsetting the girl who graciously awarded him such nice gift out of the kindness of her heart, Izuku quickly corrected himself. "No. It's fine! I love cake!" his declaration put Yamato at ease and she gave him a small.

"Thank goodness."

(—)

Not having a proper place to eat inside his room, Izuku showed Yamato back to the dining table where the both sat to enjoy the cake she brought. His mother, ecstatic seeing her only son talking with such a cute girl decided to leave the two of them alone so they could "get to know each other better". The two teens turned red after hearing those words, yet they both didn't noticed the other's sudden reddening, too embarrassed to look at each other for a couple of seconds.

After finally settling down with everything they needed, Izuku and Yamato properly introduced each other, learning that their full names were Midoriya Izuku and Yamato Rinko respectively, before giving thanks for the food they were about to eat.

It was no exaggeration when Izuku told Yamato it was the most delicious cake he had ever eaten in his whole life, delighting her by unknowingly complimenting her ability to prepare baked goods. It was so delicious he ate half of it, having grown these past 10 months to sizable portions of food. He would've eaten more but he remembered ought to leave some for his mom for later. For her part, Yamato only had a small slice of cheesecake, happy to see Izuku enjoy it so much.

They remained like that for a while having only the faintest of small talk, both being too shy around one another to really have a meaningful conversation. Soon, as always as when people are having lots of fun, time passed by like a bullet and Izuku's mother made her presence known again reluctantly interrupting the teen's moment announcingg she had to prepare dinner.

"I should head back home." Yamato said excusing herself readying to depart the Midoriya household.

"Won't you stay for dinner, Yamato-san?" Inko, Izuku's mom, tried to convince her otherwise.

"I don't wish to impose." Yamato politely decline as Japanese Norm dictated. "I should head to the bus stop before it gets too dark."

"Well, I'm sure Izuku would be happy to accompany you." Inko eyed her son telling him with her gaze what he ought to do.

"Y-Yes…I'll be happy to…" Izuku agreed somewhat shyly, his head feeling light at the idea of walking next to a girl. Especially one that was so kind and cute like Yamato.

"N-No… I couldn't…" She said waving her hands in front of her to disuade them from such actions, unintentionally squeezing Izuku's heart for a bit. Was there something wrong about him accompanying her to the bus stop? "He already done so much for me."

"It's…no bother…really…" Izuku insisted a little more hesitant. Maybe he was reading a bit too much into it. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong about him per se; seeing first hand how kind and cute she was, Yamato probably already had a boyfriend and it wouldn't look good for him or any other male to walk to closely with her. Probably this was her courteous way of sparing him an ass kicking from her plausible boyfriend who most likely was the most popular guy at her school and had an awesome Quirk.

"No, that's okay. Really!"

Honestly, this was the best he gonna get; a courteous visit and a small thank you gift. All in all, it was no doubt better than he deserved.

"Thank you for welcoming into your home, Midoriya-san" She respectfully bowed towards his mother.

"If that's what's best…" Inko said somewhat hesitant, but had no other option but to agree with Yamato's wishes. "It was an honor to have you as our guest. I hope you can visit us again." she returned the bow. "And please call me Inko, if you will, Yamato-san."

"T-thank you for your visit. And thank you greatly for the cake, Yamato-san" Izuku also returned the bow while addressing her as it was proper.

"Thank you so much for everything, Izuku-kun." For a second, he was happy to hear a girl dress him by his first name, but the feeling didn't last when he realized she probably called him like that just distinguish him from his mother, whom she called by their family name. "See you later."

"See you later." Izuku repeated what was most likely another societal formality as he waved her goodbye and watch her leave. Doubtlessly this would be the last he would ever see or heard of Yamato Rinko.

Well, at least he got a cake out of it. And it was really good.

 _'_ _I guess this is okay.'_

Izuku silently made his way back to his room while his mom went to prepare dinner. He sat back down on his chair in front of his computer desk, monitor turned off a long time ago because of the inactivity. He made no move to turn it back again and go back to work in his apology letter to All Might, his mind to busy thinking about the unexpected yet pleasant visitor.

Knowing that a nice girl like her acknowledge him, no matter how short the moment, made him feel somehow stronger. He felt like he could at least face the happenings of the days to come, wether good or bad, with more confidence now. Helping a girl that turned out to be so kind gave him the strength to face tomorrow.

That was the End of this story.

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(—)

An hour later once he already had dinner, Izuku was seated at his computer, doing his routine check for news in Hero blogs when a strange melody snapped him out of his routine. Looking for the source of the strange yet pleasant melody, Izuku found a pink cellphone on the floor of his room.

"Is it mom's?" He wondered if she had somehow lost it when she came barging into his room earlier that evening. Hearing that Mom was busy taking a bath at the moment, Izuku answered the call thinking it might be urgent they were calling this late. "Hello."

"Oh…! I knew it." said the voice, that Izuku instantly recognized as Yamato's, on the other side of the phone. "Sorry, Ieft my phone there… I'm Yamato. I was just over at your house." Such greeting was completely unnecessary in Izuku's opinion since he doubted he could ever forget her voice, specially so soon after he what he thought was the last he would see of her.

"Yes, I have your phone right here with me!" He assured her, ignoring the redundancy of his affirmation, since she was calling to her phone and he was answering it.

"I'll come pick it up! Are you free now?" Technically he was, since his mom hadn't grounded him for his misdemeanor of yesterday. Still it would be ill-mannered to force her to come all the way back from her house to his, just to pick up her phone, specially this late.

"No need." He assured her. "Just tell me where you are and I'll bring it to you." As a man, that was the right thing to do.

"Huh? Well, we should meet up then?" She said sounding somewhat surprised. "I go to the Takodana Girls Academy, how about we meet in front of the fountain in Yaveen Park!?"

"Y-Yes." Izuku answered, floored by the idea he was going to meet Yamato again.

"Would tomorrow be ok?"

"Yes."

"After classes, after 3:00 PM. Is that good?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Izuku-kun."

"Yes."

"Bye!"

"Yes… I mean… bye!"

And with that the call finally ended, but…

"The story hasn't ended yet." Izuku murmured with a smile.

That night Izuku slept peacefully unburdened by thoughts of his apparent failure at the U.A. Entrance Exam or the disappointment he brought out of All Might. No instead, he dreamed of his meeting with Yamato the very next day.

* * *

 **A.N.**

Small update, I changed Yamato's school from Nabu to Takodana.


	2. Macarons

**Chapter 2**

It wasn't over.

That girl, Yamato Rinko, he was going to meet with her again. It was just to return her cellphone she had forgotten at his house, but still! Izuku was glad he got to meet with Yamato at least one more final time. She was kind and cute, he would have to be a heartless monster to think nothing of such an opportunity.

Then why, oh why, did he felt such a pit in his stomach?

No wait. He was happy and excited to meet her.

Maybe **too** excited.

Was it creepy of him to be SO eager to met her again? After all he was just returning her lost phone. Once that was done, they would bid each other goodbye and then they would part ways. Probably to never see each other again for real this time. So yeah, it was definitely creepy of him to be so excited to see Yamato-san.

Besides, who said that it would be just the two of them when they meet at Yaveen Park? Maybe some friend would be there with her and it would be awkward to try and over-stay his welcome. Or worse? Maybe her boyfriend would be there too.

Seeing as she was so kind and cute, there mas no doubt in Izuku's mind that Yamato was one of the most popular girls in her school. That meant she most likely had an equally handsome and popular guy as a boyfriend. One born with an awesome Quirk. So awesome that he probably could've pass the U.A. Entrance Exam with ease. Maybe she was dating the guy would become the next number 1 hero in Japan!

While he just got a big fat Zero.

Honestly, a simple thank you once he returned her phone was too good for a failure like him.

Once more he allowed doubt creep inside of him, clouding his mind with insecurity and depressive thoughts. Izuku didn't noticed but the people aboard the bus around him started to move away from him, being creeped out by his strange and oddly depressive mutterings.

Fortunately the very next stop was the one Izuku hopped out of the bus, relieving the rest of the passengers, to make his way towards Yaveen Park. Internally welcoming and dreading his meeting with Yamato.

At 3:00 PM, there were several people walking through the local park, despite that it was easy to spot Yamato waiting in front of the fountain like they had agreed the night before. Even though this was the third time he had seen her, Izuku couldn't stop himself from thinking about how cute she looked in her school uniform.

Since it was early February, she was wearing a long sleeved white sweater with a blue colllar and a short purple plaid skirt. Or maybe it wasn't that the skirt was short, but that it looked that way because of the sweater itself, since its sleeves reached up to her fingertips, showing it was a little to big for her. However, her uniform couldn't compare to her long and fluffy strawberry blond hair and those big amber eyes of hers.

Izuku couldn't help but feel self-conscious. Not only was his greenish dark hair naturally messy, the freckles on his cheeks were often a source of mockery for his appearance. Yet another reminder of how different they were from one and other. Not to mention, in his indecision for what to wear for this meeting, he ended up wearing his school uniform that consisted in a black _gakuran_ with yellow buttons alongside his trademark oversized red shoes.

Just as Izuku was pondering the idea of rushing back to his home and change clothes, Yamato turned her head and managed to spot him. In a hurry she speed up to him and did the last thing he could've expected.

"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience!" She apologized to him, she even gave him a bow. "Thank you so much." She bowed again, this time in appreciation.

"N-No need to be so formal." Izuku affirmed, a failure and Otaku like him didn't deserved to be treated so nicely by someone who was so much better than him. "We are around the same age after all." Ironically, sounding just as formal as well. Rummaging through one of his pockets, Izuku pulled out Yamato's phone and presented it to her.

Yamato gladly accepted it and thanked him once more with a smile.

And that was it.

Izuku accomplished what he said he would do and now they would bid each other goodbye and Yamato Rinko would disappear from his life forever.

' _At least it was good.'_ The short moments she had being in his life. _'I have no regrets.'_

"Um…here." Yamato snapped him back to reality from the images of the bittersweet goodbye already forming in Izuku's mind. "To apologize for this time." She presented to him a small pink plastic bag she had been carrying. "I wanted to give this to you to show my gratitude for taking the trouble of bringing me my phone. If you want we can find a seat and eat it here if you want."

Izuku was dumbfounded by Yamato's words. He couldn't believe she troubled herself with another gift for such a quick and easy favor. Truly, she was being too kind, specially towards a worthless, friendless Otaku like him. Still it would be rude of him to turn down such generosity, so he eded up accepting her gift and both found a seat at one of the many park benches.

Izuku took a look at what Yamato had gifted him. it was a small box filled with 6 colorful cookie-like sweets. With no hesitation he brought one towards his mouth. Even if they turned out to taste bad, which he doubted, he was prepared to eat them all for Yamato's sake.

"What's this?" Izuku asked honestly surprised. They tasted SO good. "What are these treats called?" He was no expert on sweets so he had no idea what they were called, but now after having tasted one he had to know.

"Macarons" Yamato answered, delighted that Izuku seemed to enjoy her treats.

"Macarons? Macarons are delicious!" It was no exageration, they truly were that good. Maybe he ought to get some more to take back home. ' _Even if I never get to see Yamato-san after this, I can always remember her by the taste of these Macarons_.'

"I'm glad." Yamato said relieved but mostly happy. "The truth is I made them myself. Like the cake from yesterday." Good thing she waited until Izuku had eaten his whole Macaron when she said this, otherwise he would've choked in surprise by her revelation.

"These are Hand-made!?" Not only these but the cheesecake from the day before too. The news that she had done both those gifts by hand just for him, made his heart flutter. Even thought at the back of his mind lingered the thought that he didn't deserved such treatment.

"Actually, sweets are my speciality." It was hard not to notice. Her treats were the most delicious things he had ever eaten. She was very talented.

"I-Is it true you need a lot of physical strength to make sweets?" Izuku asked hoping to avoid any awkward silences between the two for his ineptitude for small talk, by asking about something he had read up in one of the blogs he visited. Specially an interview with the hero Lunch-Rush who was an excellent chef.

"Yep! It takes a lot of strength to the the mixing."Happy to talk about something she enjoyed doing. "I don't really use the hand mixer when I'm baking. I like doing the extra work and effort and seeing everything turn right in the end feels so gratifying."

Izuku was glad to hear her so cheerful, but he couldn't help but ask himself over and over again.

Why?

Why did she go to such length for someone like him? She knew she was very kind, but this… it felt too much. He didn't deserve it. He was a nobody. Until recently he had been Quirkless. Basically a cripple in today's society. A genetic throwback from from before humans had evolved to what they were now. Compared to her and others who had their unique powers, he was the equivalent to a caveman to what humans were before Quirks. She was so much better than him, even her genes were superior than his.

So why? Why was she so kind towards him? What reason could it be for her to treat him so nicely. To treat him so much better than any other person, besides his own mother, in his entire existence? What did she saw on him? Was it pity? No it couldn't be. It didn't feel like pity. Something else, perhaps? Maybe it was obligation. Feeling indebted and honor bound for what he had done for her? No. This generosity was beyond mere obligation. Maybe he was overthinking again. Maybe it was something simpler. Something obvious that he couldn't see. Or maybe something crazy. Absurd even. Something like her having a cru…

"Izuku-kun…you're muttering…" She snapped him back from his own thoughts.

"Sorry!" He quickly apologized, getting worried if she had been able to understand what he was saying when he was lost in his own thoughts. Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious he looked around for a quick get-away. "I-I-I gotta go to the bathroom!" He excused himself and speed away towards the direction of the park restrooms while his face grew really hot.

Instead of going inside the restroom, Izuku decided to cool off by opening one of the water faucets on the side of the restroom and let the water pour down on his head. Not only was he embarrassed, he was growing conscious of the small yet potent sensation that he was developing some sort of feelings towards Yamato-san.

Why wouldn't he? She was so kind and cute. And treated him better than most people in his life.

Still, it wasn't proper.

Not only was she so much better than him, she would be better off not associated herself with him. Such a cute and generous girl with true talent for baked goods had such a promising future ahead of her. And him? He would be lucky to even get accepted in a High School of General Education let along get a decent job after he graduated. And his "Quirkless" records wouldn't do him any favors. Being a hero was his dream, but he had utterly failed at entrance exam for the best school of heroics. He doubted he could succeed at something he had no passion for.

Simply speaking, his future looked dire. Dire as in, he had NO future at all.

Honestly, he too was better off halting these feelings of his from growing further. It would spare him of the heartache later on. Besides, even if he let them grow there was nothing he could do about them. He had nothing of worth to offer to Yamato that she couldn't get from any other guy.

Liking Yamato-san like that would only cause problems.

With a heavy sigh, Izuku walked back towards Yamato-san, with the full intent of saying goodbye forever. At least this way he would spare her the trouble of farewells, and in his heart he could always treasure this memory in the dark days to come.

"Your head is dripping wet!" She said mortified for him. Izuku gut clenched. So caught up in his inner turmoil, he had forgotten to dry off. Just how careless he could get?

"I have a towel." Yamato pulled out a small pinkish towel and diligently started drying him off without thinking it twice. Izuku decided to not think too deeply into this. Believing she was being nice and only cleaning after his mistake, nothing more nothing less. Still, it fell nice to have her so close to him and her towel had a distinct feminine arome. He somehow knew he would be dreaming of this scent in the days to come.

"You don't have to do this..." he said barely above a whisper. She already done so much and been so kind to him, she really didn't have to bother herself with this.

"It's alright. I got this." She continue her work of drying him off ignoring his silent plead to not bother.

"Yamato-san, please…" Izuku pleaded once more his time a little more direct. This caused her to stop what she was doing and take a step back.

"Izuku-kun…?" She called somewhat worried by the sudden serious tone of the boy in from of her. Meanwhile Izuku sighed once again, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

"Yamato-san. I-I am grateful for everything y-you have done for me." He began somewhat struggling with how to properly put his thoughts into words. "And the gifts, they were great. The Cheesecake and the Macarons which I never had before…" He complimented. "They were the most delicious things I have ever eaten. So delicious I wish I could eat them everyday but…"

"Really?!" She interrupted him, looking completely ecstatic. "Can I? Can I bake for you more?" She asked sounding excited for the prospect.

"Actually…" Izuku wanted to refuse, to tell her to not to bother with someone like him. But she looked so happy at that moment, he couldn't find the strength to refute her.

"The next best thing I'm good at is Sachertorte." She continued, not noticing Izuku conflicted look of inner turmoil. "It is chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated in dark chocolate icing. How about it? Would you like that?"

Yes. Yes he would like to try it. Specially if it was half as good as her previous treats. Still he wanted to say it was improper of him to take advantage of her generosity, that she didn't have to bother with a nobody like him, that she would be better of forgetting all about him.

However…

That look on her face. That radiant smile and those pleading eyes of hers made him falter.

"Y-Yes… I would love to try it."

"Okay. I will make Sachertorte next time then!" Yamato said jubilant, before she realized something. "I better get going if I want to make it!" Hurrying up, she packed her towel back into her school bag, and handed him back the box filled with Macarons from earlier. "I'll see you later, Izuku-kun."

Before he could stop her, she was already walking away towards the direction of her home. So he did the only thing he could and waved goodbye.

He felt like the worst.

Of the many things he could've said, he had to to say yes. Now there she went, in a hurry. Just so she could bake him another sweet treat. When she could be doing something else like studying or having out with her friends. No instead she would put her time and effort into bake him a delicious cake just because he had been too weak to say no.

Really, what he had done was take advantage of her generosity. He was being selfish just because he wasn't ready to say goodbye yet.

Izuku once again devolved into negative murmurs making everyone look at him funny as he made his way back to the bus stop. Not that he even noticed, being too preoccupied by his depressive inner thoughts. Be as it may, his muttering were interrupted when he felt a sudden tap on his back.

Adjusting back to reality, Izuku turned around only to find Yamato-san gasping desperately for air, her face completely flushed. "Thank…good…ness, I… made it in…time…" She managed to say between deeps breathes of air.

"W-What happened?!" Izuku asked honestly surprised and a little bit worried.

"E…E…Mail…" She tried to say only to stop for a few more seconds before continuing. "I didn't get your E-mail address…" she finally said, "I realized I didn't have a way to contact you…" She said somewhat frantic. "Could you give me… your E-mail address…?"

Izuku noticed her distress and realized she must have run all the way to catch up with him. All just so she could contact him. To say the least, he was moved by her gesture, but before he could comment on it, he noticed another thing. She was dripping with sweat.

Looking inside his School Uniform, Izuku managed to find a handkerchief and offered it out to her. "H-Here, take this Yamato-san."

"Huh?! I'm sweating that badly!?" She turned even redder, not that Izuku could possibly notice. "It's okay, I'll dry by myself…" She felt so embarrassed that Izuku had to see her looking so clammy and unkempt.

"Please take it." Izuku insisted. "You can keep it too." It was the least he could do as a man for someone who was so kind and done so much for him.

Yamato gingerly reached out to take it, almost as if she was being handed something very delicate and precious. After she took it, Izuku then pulled out his own phone and quickly sent her his mail address via bluetooth. "T-Thank you, Izuku-kun."

After that they bid each other goodbye once more.

As he watch her go, izuku couldn't help to go back to his previous thoughts. Having the opportunity to see her again he could've tried to dissuade her, yet instead he acted selfishly and remained quiet.

Yes, wanting to see her again was selfish of him bur after everything that has happened to him: being born Quirkless, the social ostracism and the bullying for not having an an individuality of his own, and his failure at the U.A. Entrance Exam. Was it wrong for him to be selfish for just once in his entire life?

After seeing Yamato smile, he was fine being selfish.


	3. Sachertorte

**Chapter 3**

 _It's_ ** _Yamato_** _._

 _I finished baking the_ ** _Sachertorte!_**

 _Can I come and give it to you_ ** _tomorrow_** _?_

Izuku stared perplexed at the message he had received on his phone. Even if she hadn't say who she was, he would've recognized it thanks to all the colorful fonts and emoji she used. Somehow this type of texting really suited her cheerful personality.

 _Sure._

 _Any time it's fine by me._

Was Izuku's short answer, having no idea how to respond to such colorful message, so he went the direct route. But after thinking about it, he decided to add a thumps-up emoji just to give it a little bit of visual appeal. And almost immediately after he send her his message, she answered back.

 ** _I'm glad!_**

 ** _Thank you!_**

 _Can we meet at_ ** _Yaveen Park_** _at 3:00 PM like last time?_

This text was even more colorful than the one before. It even had animated emoji people dancing happily and a falling star. Despite being short, her personality shined through this message.

 _Yes, I'll be there._

Again, he kept it short and to the point, fearing that he would write something that would end up embarrassing him or worse, something that might weird out Yamato-san.

Why was it what he could have long and sometimes heated discussions online about All Might and other heroes, but had trouble answering a text from girl? Sometimes he pondered if he was more socially inept than he initially thought.

Still, Yamato didn't seemed bothered by his short replies, as she texted him a couple more times before calling it a night.

Before going to sleep, Izuku just lied on his back on top of his bead just looking at his phone screen reading and re-reading Yamato's messages. He knew that what he was doing was wrong, clinging to such an amazing person like Yamato-san was selfish and greedy. It make him feel like the worst. Yet, the warm feeling he got from thinking of her and being near her were slowly beating away those negative feelings that told him to stay away and save her the trouble of associating with someone like him.

So for once in his life, he would allow himself to be selfish. He would meet Yamato again and again until she eventually got bored of him or their futures and responsibilities slowly part them away. And he would enjoy having her in his life as long as he could.

(—)

Once again, Izuku made his way towards Yaveen Park to meet with Yamato just like he had done the day before. But unlike yesterday, Izuku opted for wearing something other than his school uniform. Instead he was wearing a simple yellow t-shirt with the words " **Tシャツ** " written in bold characters on the front, alongside a pair of jeans and his favorite pair of red shoes.

The change of clothes wasn't something Izuku had planned in advance, but something of a coincidence. See, that morning Izuku had woken up feeling restless, so just like the previous 10 months before the U.A. Entrance Exam, he had gone out pretty early for what had become his routine morning run and exercise. Even after coming back home and having a healthy breakfast, he spent his time on his room lifting weights trying to spent some of his pent-up energy.

Before he knew it, it was already past two and Izuku had to take a quick shower and an even quicker change of clothes before leaving his house to meet with Yamato once more.

Just like the day before, Izuku found her waiting in front of the park's fountain and like before after she spotted him she walked up to him and gave him a proper greeting with a small bow. After proper greetings were exchanged, they ended up seating on the same bench as yesterday so he could eat what she had prepared for him.

Instead of a cake the size of the cheesecake she had prepared for him two days ago like he had expected, Yamato instead baked 7 small round cakes. Small enough to fit on the palm of his hand quite nicely. Had Izuku not know beforehand she was making cake, he would've confused them with very big and thick cookies.

Nonetheless he eat one of them, and to no one's surprise it was delicious. He let Yamato know how much in between finishing the first one and taking a bite out of the second one. Remembering his manners, he offered one to Yamato, but she declined with a small shake of the head, claiming they were his to enjoy.

After finishing the third one, Izuku decided to stop for that day. There was only so much chocolate he could consume in one day before feeling sick. Yamato-san ended up apologizing for baking too much, but Izuku stopped her telling her it was fine and that he could eat the rest of them at a later date.

Then after that whole exchange, the two of them fell into a silence that lasted a couple of minutes. Izuku being too socially inept to think of an appropriate conversation topic that wasn't cliche, like the weather, or nerdy, like gushing about his favorite heroes. Meanwhile, while he was tensely going through his brain for a conversation starter, Yamato remained respectfully quiet just enjoying the moment.

"Y-You know, Entrance Exam Season it's halfway over." He said somewhat lamely, scratching the back of his head, finally breaking what to him had being a very awkward silence. A conversation about school was a safe, neutral topic he knew about. "Just the rest of this week and the next."

"That's true…" She nodded before turning towards him. "Have you already decided which High school to go to?" Izuku felt like he turned to stone. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have, specially with Yamato-san, but it had been him who brought up the topic in the first place.

"Y-Y-Yes…I've already presented my first Entrance Exam." Which he most likely failed, even if he did well on the written portion of the Exam, on the practical portion he had utterly failed. "H-How about you, Yamato-san?" he asked while looking at anything but her, unable to face her thanks to the feeling of shame inside of him.

"I already presented my Exam too." She answered hopefully. "I hope I get accepted."

"Which school did you apply for?" Izuku inquired trying to keep the girl talking while he gathered his thoughts for when she inevitably ask him the same questions, hoping to not sound like a total loser.

"I applied for U.A."

"That's nice… you applied to U.A…." He replied almost vacantly, until he snapped back to look towards her after registering her words. "WAIT! Yamato-san applied to U.A. ?!"

"Y-Yes…" She shrunk down turning a bit red thanks to his intense gaze.

"That's amazing!" He really hadn't expected such answer, showed him that he shouldn't assumed based on appearances. "I'm sure you will be a great hero! And with your kind personality you'll be pretty popular too!"

"No, no, no!" She waved off Redding at the same time. "I didn't apply for the Hero Course…" She confessed, "I applied to the Department of General Education."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" he tried to apologized but she interrupted him midway.

"No, no, It's fine! You did nothing wrong. Besides…" she fidgeted shyly. "It was nice of you to think I could be a popular Hero. Even though my Quirk…"She trailed off for a couple of seconds.

"Yamato-san…"Curiosity invaded him. His desire to know and catalogue compelled him to ask her about her Quirk, yet seeing the look of her face when she mention it, Izuku had to hold back his impulses, just for her sake. If she didn't want to talk about it, who was he to pry.

"Which High School did you applied to, Izuku-kun?" A shame the same feeling didn't applied to her. Then again he had being trying his best to hide his discomfort with the topic from her.

"I-I-I applied to U.A. too." He managed to say despite his stutters.

"Really? Then that means we are going to the same high school." She smiled brightly, thrilled with the idea they would be able to see each other more besides meeting after school was over.

"M-Maybe…" he nervously scratched the back of his head. "I mean… I haven't received an acceptance letter yet." And he most likely wouldn't get one, with how abysmal his result in the practical part of the exam was.

"I'm sure you did just fine!" She said with much conviction. "Someone as cool as you will defiantly get accepted!"

"As cool as…me…?" he repeated quizzically.

Realizing what she just said, Yamato turned even redder and tried to explain herself with the best of her abilities. "I-I mean…! Back in the train..! You had this brave look…! And that's why I thought…!" She grew progressively nervous the more she talked, and little by little she made less and less sense each new sentence. That is until she finally settled with just saying. "I think you will make a great hero."

Izuku's entire being shivered.

 _You will make a great hero._

How long had he waited to hear such words directed at him? How long had he waited for someone to acknowledge him? to believe in him?

All Might, The Number One Hero, His personal idol since he was four, was the first one who did, and know Yamato-san, a girl who was so generous and kind to him was the second to say those words he desperately yearned for.

So, why? Why did it hurt so much to hear her say those words? those words he longed for more than 10 years?

 _Because he was a failure._

Because had betrayed the faith that All Might had placed on him. That he could use One for All, All Might's own Quirk, to become a hero.

 _Zero Points._

And now he was betraying Yamato-san's expectations too.

This only reinforced the thoughts he was having yesterday. That a born loser like him, a Quirkless good-for-nothing runt, didn't deserved any sympathy. Much less Yamato's kindness and appreciation.

"Izuku-kun…?" She asked worried, most likely for sensing the strange shift in mood.

This... this was to much for him. He needed to go. To get away. Before he lost control and caused a scene in front of her.

"I-I g-got to go!" Izuku said through the knot forming in his throat.

"Izuku-kun!?" She called out for him as he suddenly stood up and rapidly ran away. "Izuku-kun!"

He ignored her. Even after calling his name several times, he refused to stop and look at her. He couldn't face her. He just… couldn't. He just walked. Too emotionally troubled to even attempt running. Still, it didn't stopped him from walking as fast as he could, to put as much distance between him and Yamato as possible.

After a 5 minutes of walking non-stop, the upset boy managed to calm himself enough for him to finally stop, once he realized that in his hurry to get away he had overshot the bus stop. Now, standing near a building undergoing construction, Izuku would either have to walk back to the stop he passed, or he continue until he reached the next one. None really appealed to him that much, worried that he would lose it in front of the other passengers.

Maybe he ought to walk all the way home then. And just as he had made his mind, a voiced called out for him.

"Izuku-kun!" It was Yamato, looking refaced after having to following all the way there.

Izuku cursed himself. Of course she would bother to follow him, especially after bolting the way he did. She was too kind, and cared enough to try and find out what was wrong with him. That was the kind of person she was.

Someone who cared.

Someone who cared about him.

She cared about him.

Him.

But he didn't deserved it. He didn't deserved such kindness, when he was nothing but a failure and a burden to others. He wasn't worthy of All Might's trust, let alone his Quirk One For All. And he wasn't worthy of Yamato-san's acknowledgment nor her friendship.

He had been selfish. He had deluded himself into thinking that he could enjoy Yamato's generosity. That it was okay for him to accept it. That he was entitled to it because of how unjust his life had been until now. He had convinced himself into taking advantage of her.

He was no better than the man he had saved her from.

Izuku had to put a stop to this. He had to tell Yamato the truth. To tell her he was unworthy of her friendship. That he had no worth as a friend. That he was a good-for-nothing. That he was not good enough to follow his dreams, his delusions of being a hero. That he had no future. That it was improper of him to keep meeting her. That she was better of without him.

Izuku was decided. He was determined to tell her. He was going to do it. He was going to make sure she knew the exact type of person he was! He was going to tell her the truth.

But then…

 **SNAP**

Because of a snapped cable from one of the cranes from the building under construction they were standing next to, a Steel Grider had fallen from the sky and towards were Yamato was standing.

"YAMATO!" Izuku cried as his legs moved him towards her. Still it was too late, the Grider hit the floor in less than 2 seconds. By sheer luck, the Grinder that would've turned her into red paste fell directly behind her. Nonetheless, she wasn't out of danger, because the beam had fallen vertically, and now it was descending on top of her to crush her to death.

It all happened so fast. She barely had time to scream.

This was the end of Yamato Rinko.

 **"** **SMAAASH!"**

That was, had it not been by Izuku's intervention. By clenching the sphincter and screaming from the bottom of the heart, the boy not only had punched the Grider out of the way, he obliterated it. But not without consequences. Just like back at the U.A. Entrance Exam when he used One For All last, the bones on his entire arm had cracked, turning his skin into an awful looking shade of reddish brown.

It hurt. It really hurt. Still, that wasn't what was important now, Yamato's health was. "A-Are you…?"

"Izuku-kun! Your arm!" She almost shouted, her voice cracking, seeing how unnatural his hurt appendage looked.

"I'll be f-fine." He tried to reassure her, despite the increasing pain he was feeling. "it's not the first time it happened to me." He said falling down to his knees, looking down at his injured arm. In fact, back at the Entrance Exam he had broken his arm and both his legs. "I'll recover in time…" Now that he thought about it. He didn't remember how he recovered from such injuries back then. He only remembered waking up in the nurse's office after every other applicant had already gone home. Had someone in U.A. healed him? Well, yeah that was the most logical answer. If the exam was so dangerous as he remembered it made sense that U.A. had someone with a healing Quirk.

' _I wonder if I can go back and have someone look at my arm?_ ' He really hope so, because he dreaded the idea of going to a hospital and have his mother worry even more for him. Not to mention all the uncomfortable questions he had to answer regarding his injury. ' _I still haven't told mom about me having a Quirk now._ ' He worried about how she would react to such a bombshell.

Izuku was abruptly cut off from his own thoughts when he heard an unusual sound at his side. Turning his head he found Yamato kneeling down beside him sobbing.

"Yamato-san! Are you alright?" He asked worried, forgetting all about his arm. "Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" She shook her head side to side.

"Y-Y-You…got hurt because of me…" This made Izuku feel as if something was squeezing his heart.

"It wasn't your fault!" He asserted quickly. "It was my own fault! I can't control this Quirk of…mine." He tried to convince her, without reveling too much about the true nature of his Quirk. He had promised All Might after all, and despite failing him once he wasn't going to fail his promise of secrecy.

"But…"

"Everything was my own fault!" He affirmed once more. "If it wasn't for me…you wouldn't have almost…" Izuku trailed off finally dawning to him the severity of what his actions almost caused. "I-I-I almost…"

"You saved me!" Yamato proclaimed, shutting down his own self-depreciation. "It seems like… you are always saving me…"

"Yamato-san…?"

"Thank you."

Two simple words. But their power was undeniable. With these simple words, all the doubt and guilt that had being plaguing Izuku's mind the last few days, just disappeared. It was as if his heart was free from a heavy lock that had him chained down. now free, he felt unburdened, almost weightless. He wanted to bask in this feeling forever, but the returning sound of Yamato sobbing hampered this desire.

"Yamato-san, please don't cry." He didn't like to see people cry, and Yamato was no exception. Even though he had only known her for such a short time, he knew that a sad face looked completely wrong on her. Yamato should be happy, should be cheerful, with a big smile on her face.

Again, Yamato shook her head side to side. "I do." Before Izuku could ask her what she meant by that, she let her shed tears fall from her face, down to Izuku's injured arm.

Almost as if was magic, his hurt arm slowly started to regain a more natural and healthier look, and after less than a minute his arm had recovered completely. It was as if he had never injured himself in the first place.

"Is this…?" Izuku was utterly awed by his miraculous healing.

"My Quirk." She answered, wiping away the moisture on her eyes and face. "Healing Tears."

 _Healing Tears: This Quirk allows Yamato to cure any injury, by restoring it to a healthier state. The graver the injury the more tears are needed. The drawback is that this Quirk physically drains Yamato, making her exhausted the more she cries. And once she runs out of tears, she would not be able to cry again in several hours._

"This is amazing! You are amazing Yamato-san!" Izuku priased, causing the girl to turn red. "You can help a lot of people with your Quirk! Even become a great hero like Recovery Girl."

"Actually…" Yamato began with slight adverted eyes before focusing back on Izuku. "I don't think I could be a great hero… not like you, Izuku-kun."

Izuku shivered, once more. "I am not…"

"You are !" She insisted. "You are so brave and so kind! And selfless too." Each and every single word she meant, and unknowingly squeezed his heart more and more. "You put other before yourself! You jump to help others regardless of consequence." Like back when at the Station Attendant Office when he got scolded by the police after defending her honor. "You risked injury just to save me." To suffer months of pain and recovery for her. "You are a Hero, Izuku-kun." She said looking at him directly into his eyes. "You are my Hero."

Izuku was reminded once more of his painful memories from childhood. When he was told he was never going to develop his own Quirk. When his mother cried, apologizing profusely, instead of saying those words he desperately wanted to hear. When Kacchan had dubbed him "Deku" which meant ' _someone who can't do or achieve anything'_. When his peers started to bully him and telling him he was a delusional fool for wanting to be a hero. Even when All Might had told him to be realistic in his dreams.

He remembered all of it.

But also he remembered other things. He remembered the video he watched everyday about All Might rescuing all those people with a smile on his face. How it inspired him. How he spend his time analyzing all sort of heroes and their Quirks. He remembered how his legs moved on his own to try and help Kacchan when he saw the look on his face when the Sludge Villain attacked. And he remembered when All Might had said: "You can become a Hero."

Just like that time 10 months ago, the dam broke in Izuku's heart and he couldn't help but to turn on the waterworks and sob. But unlike last time, someone was there to console him. Yamato silently enveloped him in a hug allowing him to let out all of what had being festering inside of him for a long time.


	4. Cake Salé

**Chapter 4**

It has been days since Izuku last saw Yamato.

This wasn't because of a long strings of unfortunate coincidences. No, this has being done intentionally by Izuku himself. Why?

Because he had cried in front of Yamato.

Izuku knew that him turning on the waterworks, wasn't something new. Heck, it was one of many personality quirks he had actually inherited from his mother. He had cried many times in front of people. He cried in front of his mom. He cried in front of Kacchan. He cried in front of strangers. He even cried in front of All Might. But none of them compared with the embarrassment he felt at having cried in front of Yamato-san.

He had not only cried her heart out in front of her, he also hugged her while he did so. Once he realized what he had done, there was nothing more that he wanted that for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Thankfully a Hero showed up to investigate about the fallen Steel Grider, and had asked them questions about it, providing Izuku the most perfect excuse to separate from Yamato.

After he was done with the questions, and making sure they were okay, the Hero told them to each go home. Something Izuku really appreciated and took up his command, that is after a quick goodbye to Yamato-san in which he couldn't meet her eyes.

Ever since then he had been staying at home. He even forgone his usual morning training at the beachside, afraid of the possibility of running into Yamato-san, no matter how unlikely that scenario was.

Of course his mother noticed how weird and restless he got. And often checked on him asking him what was wrong and if there was something she could do to help. Izuku just told her that everything was fine, that she didn't need to worry about it. And if by any chance Yamato-san came looking for him, to please, PLEASE, tell her he wasn't there.

That last request, was a mere precaution, since for the last few days he had received messages from Yamato every few hours. And just like with his mother he answered some of them with "I'm fine." "Don't worry about me." and "Sorry, I'm busy." While others he completely ignored.

Izuku knew it was childish of him to hid inside his house, afraid of speaking to someone. It reminded him of when he was 6 years old and tried to avoid Kacchan the same way during spring break. But unlike with Kacchan whom with he had to meet at school anyways and bullied him constantly. With Yamato, he was mostly embarrassed than afraid, and unlike with Kacchan, he had some feelings towards her, no matter what those _Fujoshi_ back in school say or how many artwork they drew.

 _Izuku shuddered._

Shaking his head to forget all about _them_ , Izuku focused back at his mission at hand. He just had to hold out until his suspension was over, then he would be able to go back to school and have a more believable excuse as to why he couldn't meet Yamato, while he thought of something to get him out of this embarrassing situation.

(—)

Midoriya Inko was worried about her son.

That sentiment wasn't new to her. She had being worried about her only son ever since he was 4 years old and the doctor said he would never develop a Quirk of his own. She knew how much he dreamed of becoming a hero, and hearing the bad news she knew his dreams would be crushed. But he never gave up. He insisted on becoming a hero even if he didn't have a Quirk. He even when as far as to apply to U.A. , the number one school in the world for heroics.

Inko was proud of how far Izuku has come ever since he discovered his Quirkless nature. Still, she worried. She was afraid his insistence of following his dream despite the overwhelming odds would only cause him heartache. Or worse, it would drive him to do something completely mad and get hurt because of it. That is why she have never vocally supported his dream despite how callous it was.

If only Izuku's father…

No.

She wouldn't dwell on that no more. She had afflicted herself so much in the past worrying about what if's, she had several extra pounds of weight as proof of that. Those thoughts had caused her to neglected herself too much to start over again.

No. Inko had much pressing matters with how secluded Izuku had become this couple of days. She didn't know why but around 10 months ago, Izuku started to change. Nothing too overt at first, but with time he became more physically active and his appetite had grown. He asked her to cook healthier and bigger portions of food, and begged her to buy him weightlifting equipment. Seeing how much healthier he looked and how much he had grown in confidence, she allowed it.

Her son then spent all his free time exercising. When he wasn't in school or at home studying, he would be lifting weights or going on runs. Most of the times, he would return home covered in dirt and sweat, completely exhausted, but since his grades never suffered and never got sick, she allowed him to continue, despite some of her concerns.

Then over time, the whole thing became routine, and she started to worry less and less. That is until he told her he was taking the U.A. Entrance Exam for the Hero Course. That's when she realized that all that exercise was his last-chance effort into trying to follow his dream. She feared that when he failed, all the self-confidence he had been building up to that point would come crushing down, and he would just…shut down.

Having his hopes and dreams shattered a second time in his short life would be devastating.

That's why when she received a call from the police after Izuku had gone to present the Entrance Exam, she almost fainted. She feared her worst fears had come true and that her poor Izuku had snapped and attacked a random person as a way to deal with all his pent up frustration and negative emotions after having most likely failed.

Thank goodness, that wasn't the case. Instead Izuku had gotten in trouble when he had defended the honor of a young girl who was being groped by a vile man. Sure getting in trouble with the police was bad, but at least wasn't the worst case scenario she had feared. After Izuku informed her he was suspended from school for a week, she decided to spare him more stress by not grounding him. He had suffered so much after all.

The day after, Yamato Rinko had shown up at their door.

Yamato-san was such a cute girl, and very generous too. She came all the way to their home with the sole purpose of thanking her son for having stood up for her in her time of need. This not only endeared Yamato-san to her, but make her prouder of her son. She was the type of girl any mother would welcome and be proud of when their sons presented them to their mothers.

Inko had prayed to the gods above for Yamato and Izuku to become friends. Knowing the good it would do to her son's mental and emotional state to have friends that cared for him. Since another fear that she had constantly was that her son would grow up into adulthood with a severe sense of loneliness and detachment from others.

Everything seemed to be going fine for a couple of days, and then Izuku came home in a hurry and secluded himself inside his room. The sight wasn't unknown to Inko, but it had become rarer as for the past ten months. She knew Izuku only needed a few hours to calm down before he would come out and say that everything was fine. She had expected that.

What she hadn't expect was for him to remain like this for the past couple of days. Only coming out for the bathroom. His meals having to be delivered to his room where even then, he wouldn't allow her to come in, he would receive them at his door before going back in.

She feared that Izuku was turning into one of those _Hikikomori_ , she sometimes heard on the news. Those that lived a life of utter solitude, with unhealthy eating habits and sleeping patterns, and that they ended up dying buried in a mountain of their own possessions. Typically Adult Magazines and thin books.

The idea of her baby boy having those types of lewd material, made her queasy. But now that she thought about it, Izuku hadn't ever shown any interest in girls before. She would not even heard a peep from him talking about a girl from school or even mention one by name. All he talked about were heroes, and all the magazines he ever saw him buy and read were about heroes. Then again, some of the Female Heroes on the news wore very revealing and skimpy outfits. Like that Mt. Lady who recently debuted. So it was easy to infer that they also appeared in those magazines that Izuku liked so much. Although, Izuku exclusively talked about Male Heroes. In fact ALL of the posters on his walls were Male Heroes. All of which wore tight outfits over their well-defined and toned muscle bodies. All Might, Izuku's favorite hero, wore such a tight suit it left little to the imagination of lonely women everywhere. and probably some lonely men too.

This really put her son's near obsession for the Number One Hero into perspective.

Anyway, Inko tried her best to talk to him, have him tell her what's wrong and what she could do to help him. But he only responded with platitudes of "I'm fine", "There's nothing wrong", "I'm busy" and strangest of them all "If Yamato-san visits tell her I'm not here."

That got her curious. Why Yamato-san specifically? Had something happened between them that caused Izuku to react this way? With how little clues she had, that was the only explanation she could deduce. Not that she actually believed the girl had somehow hurt her son in any malicious way. She had been so polite and kind during her visit, and Inko hadn't felt anything wrong from her.

Call it woman's intuition, but Inko was sure there was something bigger going on that she had a clue about.

As she pondered about the subject, a knock on the door of their apartment brought her back to the present. "Coming!" She called out, getting up from the couch in their "living room" to go and answer the door. She was surprised at who she found at their door.

"Please forgive me for bothering you, Midoriya-san." Yamato said very formally as she bowed to her. "Is Izuku-kun home?"

The girl she had been thinking of, Yamato Rinko, was at their doorstep, dressed in a very cute light pink dress under a soft brown overcoat, and her hair done in this adorable loose braids with one of them sporting a cute little pink bow.

Geeting over her susprise rather quickly, Inko bowed back. "You're welcome, Yamato-san." Then she remembered what her son asked of her if this situation happened. "I'm sorry but Izuku isn't home right now." She noticed the look of disappointment on the girl as she said this.

"Oh! Okay then, thank you very much for your time." She bowed down again. "Goodbye Midoriya-san."

"Wait! Yamato-san!" Inko almost shouted, stopping her from leaving just yet. "Why don't you come in for some tea?" She offered, seeing this as a great opportunity to find out what happened.

"I don't wish to intrude." Yamato answered back, only for Inko to insist further.

"It's no bother really. Besides, you came all the way here, it would be rude of me if I don't offer you something." With that line, the girl couldn't help but to accept her invitation, otherwise it would be rude to dismiss her generous hospitality.

"Sorry for the intrusion." Yamato bowed again before entering the Midoriya household.

"Welcome." After Yamato has taken off her shoe's at the entrance, in favor of slippers. Inko showed her towards the dinning table, where she and Izuku had that cheesecake all those days ago. Before sitting, Yamato offered her the bag she had been carrying.

"Here is something for you."

"Thank you very much." Inko accepted it gracefully. "Do you mind if I open it, now?"

"Please do so." Looking inside, the older woman found several bright yellow breads in the form of hearts.

"This is for Izuku, is it not?" Inko smiled knowingly, as the young girl blushed a little and nodded.

"I thought Izuku-kun might be growing tired of me preparing just sweets, so today I tried Cake Salé instead." She explained. "It might look sweet, but in reality it is salty. So please do not eat it thinking it is sweet, because it is actually salty."

"I'm sure Izuku will enjoy these." Inko said while ignoring the fact the girl just repeated herself about the taste of the cakes.

"You are welcome to try them too, Midoriya-san."

"Thank you," Inko bowed before putting the cakes away. "Please take a seat, while I prepare some tea."

"Please do not go to any trouble for me." Yamato said politely as it was tradition, even if she had accepted her offer for tea before coming in.

"It is no trouble Yamato-san." Inko answered accordingly. "Now if you excuse me, I'll prepare some tea. Is green tea, okay?"

"It is. Thank you very much, Midoriya-san."

"Please, call me Inko, Yamato-san."

"I understand. Please call me Rinko, if you would."

"Yes, Rinko-san."

After Inko brought the team and all the proper pleasantries had been exchanged, they both fell into a not so comfortable silence. Inko noticed that the girl wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to do so. So she waited for her until she was ready. Nothing good would come by trying to pressure her.

"Inko-san…" Rinko began softy.

"Yes…?"

"I-I-I think Izuku-kun hates me!" She cracked up the volume, almost causing whiplash for poor Inko. "What should I do? He's being avoiding me and i don't know why! Did I do something wrong? Did i offend him? I don't know what to do!"

"Please calm down, Rinko-san!" The older woman pleaded for the sake of her ears. "Izuku doesn't hate you, and I'm sure he isn't avoiding you." Okay, that last part might be a lie, but the poor girl didn't need to know that. "Please tell me what happened, so I know how to help you."

After Yamato told Inko about what happened in detail, including the part where Izuku had saved her from a falling Steel Grider, (although she omitted the part of which Izuku used his Quirk and had gotten hurt, not wanting to worry Izuku's mom nor she want her to believe he had gotten hurt because of her), the older woman finally had a cleared idea of what was happening.

Just like a Elementary student who realized he liked a girl, Izuku was just hiding from his crush, too embarrassed about the new feelings inside of him. Inko would've found it adorable if this had happened when Izuku was younger, but now this late into his teens it was a reminder of how socially inexperienced he was, and how growing up ostracized from his peers because of his Quirkless status had stunned him.

And because of that, Izuku was now hurting Rinko, who was worrying about something that wasn't her fault.

"Izuku, right now, is going through a tough spot, being stressed by school and all." She tried to excuse the actions of her son while trying to reassure the poor girl. "But you shouldn't let that discourage you. I'm sure he'll come around."

"But he grew awfully serious after I mentioned going to the same school as him." Yamato pointed out. "What if he doesn't want me around, and he was just being nice just to not hurt my feelings…"

"Your feelings…?" Inko asked prompting her to elaborate.

"Back in the train, he had this brave look on his face when he saved me, and when he stood up for me after that man said such awful things, I thought Izuku-kun was so cool. Just like a Hero."

"A hero…?" Those words warmed her heart. How long had her son wanted to be a hero? And here there was a girl who acknowledge him as one.

"A-After seeing him like that… How could I not f-fall for him?" Rinko admitted turning an interesting shade of red, surprising Inko. Never would have she expected this development.

"So… after knowing that, are you gonna just give up on him?" She had to make sure. Make sure the girls feelings were genuine and she had the diligence for love. Half-baked feelings were a disservice for love.

"I don't want to give up…"She answered softly, little bit of moisture forming in her eyes. "I'm gonna keep trying…" he said with a little more confidence. "I don't think I'll ever meet anyone else like him."

"You might be right about that." Inko smiled. In a world where everyone was unique because of their Quirks, she believe Izuku was too, not because his lack of one, but despite not having one, he did his best and work harder than everyone else.

"I like him so much…" Rinko confessed.

"Please say that one more time." Inko requested, confusing Yamato for a bit, but the girl figured it was the older woman's way of cheering her on to do her best.

"I like him!" Rinko said with more conviction.

"Who do you like?"

"I LIKE IZUKU-KUN!"

Inko waited until those words stopped reverberating throughout the house before she stood up from her seat at the table and asked out loud towards the hallway. "Could you please come out now and give Rinko-san a proper answer?"

Rinko looked at the woman confused, until from the hallway stepped out Izuku, with a vacant expression on his face.

"Huh!? What? Why!" Yamato asked bewildered until she realized that Izuku most likely heard what she just shouted. "H-How mean!" She sent a small look towards the woman who tricked her, though she failed at it thanks to the intense red hue on her cheeks.

Yamato then turn her gaze from the woman towards the boy whom she just confessed she had feelings for as he finally stood in front of her. Knowing she couldn't retract her words or back down at this point in time, she decided to go for it and properly confess this time. "I like you! I've liked you ever since we first met!"

Turning red as well, Izuku finally answered. "I like you too!" Also matching her conviction. "Ever since we first met!"

Having heard those words from one and other, both Izuku and Yamato stood there staring at each other's eyes. Their entire being's feeling lighter and their vision of the world around them having brighten to the point it sparkled. The truth finally setting both their hearts free.

This moment, the happiest in their entire lives, they wished it could last forever.

A shame it was cur short by a sudden click sound.

Finally turning away from each other gaze, both Izuku and Rinko looked at Inko, who had a camera on her hands. "It's so beautiful… this moment!" She said as she turn on the waterworks, moved by the beauty of it all.

"MOM!"

* * *

 **A.N. Why does Inko not have her own character tag? Please e-mail FF and let them know to correct this injustice.**

 **P.S. Having** **refered to Yamato by her last name most of the time, it took me until midway of writing this to realize that her name was almost the same as Izuku's mother. For his sake I hope he doesn't mix them up.**


	5. White Rice, Fried Fish & Miso Soup

**Chapter 5**

After their mutual confession, instigated by Izuku's mother, all the doubt, self-depreciation and fear in Izuku's heart evaporated, replaced by a soft warm feeling inside. But as with any natural highs in life, it soon had to come down. Quickly replaced by another feeling of uncertainty.

 _'What do I do now?'_

What does someone do after confessing their feelings to the person they like? Since he has never been in a situation like this before, he had no idea how to proceed. Izuku didn't even have fictional reference as a fall back since he had never being attentive to the romance genre on T.V. Shows or Manga. He had focused most of his attention to heroes on the news. And in the small amount of movies he had seen that did have a romantic subplot, more often than not, after the lead couple confessed their love to each other, the end credits were soon to follow. Never really showing what actually happened after the lead couple's confession. They just jumped forward in time after they had been a couple for a while getting married or about to do so.

The nervousness he was feeling must have shown on his face, because soon his mother came to his rescue.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Rinko-chan?" Inko asked stealing away the girl's attention from her son, so he could clear his thoughts.

"I don't wish to impose." Yamato repeated the often said Japanese phrase as to not appear rude to her host generous offer, no even slightly puzzled by the sudden change of honorifics.

"It is no trouble for us." Inko insisted. "We would love to have you for dinner, right Izuku?" she gave her soon a small look, prompting him to respond.

"Y-Yes! We would love it!"

"Thank you very much for your hospitality." Rinko bowed to the head of the Midoriya family to show her appreciation.

"My, no need to be so formal, Rinko-chan!" The older woman waved off. "You are Izuku's girlfriend after all."

Atthe mention of them being boyfriend and girlfriend, a concept that still hadn't settled in for the two of them, both teens turn red and looked away from each other, too embarrassed by Inko's words.

' _They are both so cute._ '

(—)

Since Dinner was until a couple of hours later, Izuku and Yamato spent that time sitting on the couch in the "living room". Unlike when they both seat next to each other at the park, this time it was a bit more awkward, since now they weren't just "acquaintances" or "friends", they were "boyfriend and girlfriend", a.k.a. "A couple." Thankfully, Inko came to the rescue again, when she reminded Yamato about the gift she had brought.

Just like all the times before, after Izuku took a bit of one of the heart-shaped Cake Salé, he exclaimed how delicious it was. Unlike the Cheesecake, the Macarons and the Sachertorte, who were all very sweet, the Cake Salé was salty. A complete turnaround from the sweets from before. Despite this, Izuku sing praised much to Yamato's delight.

They spent most of the time waiting for dinner talking about the cake. Izuku asking question after question about how she made them, and Yamato gladly answered each and every one of them, happy to talk about cooking and baking. Izuku listen attentively to her answers, enjoying hearing the passion in Yamato's voice. She was like him, when he talked about Heroes.

Then, dinner was served. Nothing really too fancy. it was a simple dinner of cooked White Rice, Fried Fish, Miso Soup and a side Salad. Izuku worried it would be too common of a dish for their guest, but Yamato soon eased that worried when she complimented his mother for her hard work and the seasoning.

There was small talk during dinner. Mostly Inko asking Yamato all sort of questions about her. About her home, about her school, about her likes and hobbies. All of which Izuku paid attention and made mental notes of, knowing how important it was for a boy to know these sort of stuff about the girls they liked.

Then came the question of dreams for the future. Nothing too overt, just a simple questions of what Yamato hoped for when she finished High School. The answer?

"Ever since I was little I've dreamed on becoming a great baker." She replied with a smile. "Sweet treats have always make me feel better when I'm sad, so I thought that I can do the same for others. To make people smile with my sweets and brighten their day when they are feeling down."

Izuku was amazed by how honest and wholesome her dream was. So much that it put in perspective his own golas in life. Ever since he was a 4 years old, he wanted nothing more to be a Hero like All Might, not because he was super strong or because he was idolized by others, but because he could save so many people with a big smile on his face. It inspired him. He too wanted to help others with a smile on his face and inspire them too.

Yamato's dream was different, yet similar at heart. Both of them wanted to help people. But while Izuku wanted to do it in a very direct and grand scale manner by saving them and inspire them to do the same for others; Yamato opted for more ancillary approach, she sought to help others in a small way by brighten up their day with sweets and by doing so, they will carry on their day with a more positive outlook.

At the end of the day, they both wanted to help people. Yet, while Yamato was halfway there to fulfilling her dream, Izuku was stuck, going nowhere. Yamato would go to U.A. , one of the best schools for heroics and non-heroics studies. In fact, those who graduated from the General course were guaranteed a spot in any College or University they wanted. There was no doubt she would go far and fulfill her dream.

Meanwhile, Izuku got a big fat zero. He would most likely never be able to go to U.A. and become a Hero like he dreamed since he was four years old.

 _"It is not bad to have dreams, but you also have to consider what's realistic."_

That was what All Might said to him. Before the man decided to pass down his Quirk, One For All, to him. Before the man trained him for 10 months. Before the man declared him worthy for a vessel.

Worthy…

What a joke.

He was nothing but a…

"But after meeting Izuku-kun I may have change my mind." Yamato said, snapping Izuku from his depressive thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I've always disliked my Quirk." She confessed much to the surprise of both members of the Midoriya household. "Whenever I show people my Quirk, they all praise it. Everyone always tells me how incredible and helpful it is." Izuku could only nod, he himself had been impressed by it when she used his broken arm. "But in the end, they always ended up caring more about my Quirk than me. I quickly realized that all their praise and admiration were just simple platitudes to keep me around not because they like me as a person but for I could do for them with my powers."

"Yamato-san…" Izuku had no idea how to respond to that. He couldn't relate to her experiences since he had been born with two joints in his pinky toes and therefor he had grown Quirkless. The only think he could think of was about those people who had incredibly passive or non-combat oriented Quirks and how they hated they couldn't become heroes. Even then, those cases didn't come close to what Yamato was saying.

They only think he could understand was how lonely she must have felt. Despite being diametrically opposites of each other: Him being isolated from other because of his lack of Quirk, and her isolated because her Quirk outshined her. Loneliness was still loneliness.

"But then I met Izuku-kun." She said with a more cheerful tone than before. "He didn't know anything about my Quirk, yet he believed I could be a great hero, not because of my powers but because of who I was."

Izuku remembered. It was after she told him she applied for U.A. and he assumed she wanted to assist the Hero Course.

"And when I showed him my Quirk, he praised me again." This made Izuku wince, did he hurt her by doing the same thing that made her hate her Quirk? If so, he ought to apologize immediately. "Not because of how I could help him, but for how I could help others." She said, giving him a look full of gratitude. Before turning back to look at Inko, "He was so selfless. I've never met someone like him who thought so much about others before themselves."

"Of that I have no doubt." Inko smiled softly. Despite never vocally supporting his dream, she knew of the dedication of her son. How many times did he stand up for others when he couldn't defend himself. It was a noble trait to have, but she often feared it would become self-sacrificing at some point.

"Seeing how noble he was, it got me thinking." Yamato continued somewhat more serious. "All this time, I've been acting selfish. I've been living thinking only about myself."

"That's not true, Yamato-san!" Izuku quickly called out. "I'm sorry if I made you believe that, but there is nothing bad about your dream of being a great baker." She was grateful for his words, but she still shook her head side to side.

"I love baking, it is my passion, I love that the effort I put into making sweets get recognized. But, now I realize I was seeking comfort in the approval of others instead." She said with a sense of finality. "I remember what I wanted to do before I got my Quirk. I wanted to help people, to make a difference."

"Yamato-san…" Izuku managed to utter, his voice having difficulty forming words.

"After all, _'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility'_."

Izuku was awestruck. He remembered that phrase. It was the fundamental principle for the first generation of heroes. At the dawn of the phenomenon, when the norm of what it meant to be "human" suddenly crumpled away. When the law lost all meaning and their civilization came into a halt, only to spiral down into all out devastation. These words were the maxim, the rallying cry, that separated Heroes from Villains during those daunting times.

The Age of Upheaval.

That was almost a hundred years ago.

So long was it since these motto was first spoken, nobody was sure who coined it in the first place. But its legacy was still felt today.

Izuku knew these words. He knew what they meant and their history, since he had studied everything her could about being a hero. And now, he was ashamed to admit he had forgotten all about them.

"You wish to become a pro hero now?" asked Izuku once he recovered his voice.

"I-I think it is a bit late for me…" Yamato admitted with a dejected sigh. Her body was not sickly frail, but it wasn't up to the task for heroics either. "Although I can still save people by becoming a nurse or even a doctor." She explained enthusiastically. "As they say, not all heroes wear capes."

Izuku was shocked to the core once again. Just how thoughtless has he been this past week? Here he was, a so-called aspiring hero, feeling sorry for himself and already giving up on his dreams. While Yamato, who for many years had no interest in becoming a hero, was now aiming as high as she could. And the kicker was that, it was HIM who inspired her.

He had been so wrapped up with his own thoughts and failures that he had forgotten what his dream was. He wanted to be a hero. Just because he most likely failed the entrance exam for U.A. didn't meant he could no longer be one. Sure, U.A. was the Alma Mater for All Might and the Top Ranking Heroes of Japan, but not all heroes went to U.A., there were other schools.

Though not with the same prestige as U.A., places like Isamu Academy and Ketsubutsu Academy were very good schools. School that Izuku couldn't apply for, because they didn't accept applications from people without Quirks. But now it was different. He had a Quirk now. There was nothing stopping him from applying to those or any other schools with a Heroic Department.

Sure, The best Hero Job Offers went to U.A. alumni, but that didn't meant a graduate from another school couldn't rise through the ranks. They only had to work harder than anyone else to do it. And if there was something Izuku learned these past 10 months of training, was the meaning of working hard.

So what if he didn't get into U.A.? He could still become a hero yet!

"Izuku, you're mumbling again." His mother said, snapping him from his well-known bad habit.

"Sorry mom!"

(—)

After dinner was done, Izuku and Yamato sat back again on the couch in the "living room" while Inko took care of the clean up. Of course, Yamato offered to help her, but Izuku's mother declined saying she was a guest and it was her duty as a host. And when she informed them she was going out to the convenience store, Izuku offered to go instead, but his mother declined again, telling him he should be entertaining Yamato instead.

Now completely alone, both teens shared some small talk, mostly about Izuku's mom and how nice her cooking was. But after a while, Izuku decided to open up to Yamato about himself.

"Yamato-san, I need to tell you s-something." He began somewhat nervous.

"What is it, Izuku-kun?" She asked tilting her head to the side, with honest curiosity showing on those big amber eyes of hers.

"I-It's a-about U.A. …" He continued, growing more nervous. If Yamato noticed, she didn't commented on it, instead she remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "I-I don't think I'll be accepted."

"What do you mean?" She asked clearly confused. In her mind Izuku was so noble and strong. There was no way that U.A. wouldn't accept someone like him, wasn't it?

"If I were to grade myself, I'd say that I made it past the passing line of the written test." He was very studious, and still the written portion had being challenging. That was U.A. for you. Only the best of the best. "B-But… on the Practical Portion of the Exam, I…"

He hesitated. Could he tell her? He knew he should, he didn't want to lie to her. But, what would she think of him if she knew? If she knew how much of a failure he was.

"Izuku-kun…?"

No. He couldn't back down now. She had the right to know. Even if she ended up hating him or disillusioned, she should know.

"I failed it." He confessed. Izuku proceeded to tell her everything. How nervous he was, how he froze at the first sight of an mock villain, how he wasted his time looking for a single villain to defeat. He also told her about the 0-point Villain and how after using is Quirk on it, both his legs and right arm broke, and how he ended up failing to get a single point.

After finishing his story, Izuku remained quiet, waiting for Yamato to process his words. Hopeful that she wouldn't hate him for his shortcomings as a hero.

"Why…?" She finally asked. "Why does using your Quirk hurt you?" Of all the things she could ask him, he wondered why she asked for the only thing he wasn't thrilled to answer.

"B-Because I was a late b-bloomer." He ended up saying. His insides squeezing for the fact he had to lie to her about it. Still, he was honor bound to keep the secret All Might had entrusted him. As much at it hurt him to lie, specially to Yamato who had been so kind to him, he would not fail All Might with his secret, no matter how dirty it made him feel. "My Quirk didn't manifested until the day of the exam."

"But that means…" She gasped. "That means, you applied to U.A. thinking you were Quirkless?"

"I was Quirkless." He said truthfully. "The Exam was the first time I used it. One moment I was feeling completely terrified, the next I was several stories high in the air with two broken legs and an arm after trying to save someone…"

"And back when you saved me from the falling Grider…?"

"That was the second time I used it." He admitted looking down, abashed at who these revelation painted her near missed rescue. "I haven't had time to learn how my Quirk works…" Despite painting himself in a bad light, he knew he should be truthful. She deserved the truth after all. "So back then, it was just luck. Pure, dumb, luck." HIs hands tighten over his knees.

If this revelation didn't put a dent in her opinion of him, then he…

"You are an amazing person, Izuku-kun." She smiled placing one hand atop of his. "The more I get to know you, the more surprising you become."

"Yamato-san…?" He managed to say as throat began to tighten into a knot.

"Not only did you applied to the biggest Hero School in the world without a Quirk, you risked your life to save mine, not knowing if you'd be okay or not." Her eyes too threaten to water. "If U.A. doesn't accept you, then that is their lose." She made him sharply draw breath, "Because you are braver than I thought," and she already thought the world of him, "To me, you are already a Great Hero."

That was the second time she called him a Hero, and it was the second time he shed tears in front of her because of that. Izuku was not a fan of many of his personality quirks, but he hated how easily it was for him to lose it in front of Yamato. Not even Kacchan in a nasty mood managed to make him cry as easily as Yamato's kind words could.

"T-Thank you Y-Yamato-san…"

After that, they both remained silent for a couple of minutes. Just enough time for Izuku to calm down and recover his ability to speak unobstructed by his throat.

"I'm sorry…" Izuku apologized.

"You got nothing to apologize for."

"I do." He shook his head side to side. "I know you were looking forward to us going at the same school…"

"Doesn't matter." She assured him. "We can still see each other after school. And we can call and text each other." She was sure they could make it work. "Not to mention that on Sundays and holidays we can properly meet each other." She declared with a little bit of hope.

"Spring, Summer and Winter Breaks too." Izuku noted.

"Golden Week."

There were ample opportunities for them to see each other. It would only required a bit of patience and a lot of dedication. And if Izuku knew one thing, was how to dedicate oneself to something he wanted. And Yamato was something he wanted on his life for as long as possible.

Even if he would never get to be in U.A., that didn't mean that things wouldn't be fine.

Finally Izuku had no regrets.

"IZ…IZUKU! IZUKU! Called out his mother, rushing towards them from the hallway, with an envelope on her hand. "It came! It's here, honey!" She presented to them, the envelope had the name of U.A. printed on it.

Izuku had an almost vacant look on his face. Just why did it have to come in the middle of what had been a very pleasant moment. He then felt Yamato placing her hand on top of his again, eyes looking at him and asking if he was alright.

"Thank you, I'm fine." He said barely above a whisper, before he turn towards his mother and took the envelop from her hand. He started at it for a few seconds before finally saying. "Could you excuse me for a moment?"

"Of course, honey." Inko said while Yamato just nodded in agreement. It was left unsaid, but they knew he wanted to deal with this on his own.

Both mother and girlfriend watched they boy they both cared about, march towards his room to confront the object that would dictate his whole future.

As the door of his room closed, they both waited anxiously. Hoping for the best.

(—)

After what felt like an eternity, the door to Izuku's room finally opened, and along came the boy with red around his eyes. Indicating he had been crying.

"Izuku…?"

"Izuku-kun…?"

Both women inquired, dreading the worst. But then, Izuku, gave them the biggest smile that had ever seen on him before.

"I got in!" he declared, much to the surprise and joy of Inko and Yamato, respectively

"Honey, I'm so happy for you!" Inko rushed towards her son and embraced him, tears of happiness falling from her eyes.

"Congratulations, Izuku-kun." she rejoiced with both members of the Midoriya Family. She was happy that Izuku managed to get to his dream school, despite all of the hardships and grievances he confessed to. Not to mention, the pleasant idea that they would be going to the same school together. "I knew you could do it."

"Thank you, Yamato-san!"

Izuku felt blessed.

Not only did he got accepted into the school of his dreams, he also managed to get himself a very kind and understanding girlfriend. Truly this was one of the best days in his life.

And it was all thanks to all the help he received along the way.

 _Mom. All Might. Yamato-san._

He would make them proud.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Sorry for the delay. We had a thunderstorm here on my town, and they wind caused a malfunction that left my house without electricity for two whole days. Add the fact that nights here gets so hot one can barely sleep.**

 **It was unbearable.**


	6. Roll Cake

**Chapter 6**

"A child fell into the river!" Someone cried from up the bridge, looking down.

"The current is too fast!" Shouted another on-looker.

"Someone do something!" Cried a woman.

"Someone call a H…!" The last one was interrupted mid sentence when a body jumped from the bridge all the way down to the river below, swimming towards the drowning child.

Finally, the rescuer managed to grab the child and carried him to safety. Once on land, onlookers of the near tragedy realized that the one who saved the day was none other than middle schooler. And after reuniting mother and child back together, the Middle School Hero, just bid them goodbye and ran off.

Towards where exactly? And who was this kid? Nobody knew.

(—)

 _'My name is Midoriya Izuku. I'm a 3rd year Middle School student.'_

Izuku ran through the street, his uniform completely soaked from the dive on the river, earning him several strange looks from people that he passed-by.

 _'And I have no time to go home and change.'_

No matter the amount of stares he drew to himself, or how awkward his uniform felt as it stuck to his body. Or the squeezing sound that his shoes made every time he took a step. Nothing would deter him. Why?

 _'I have somewhere to be! Someone to meet.'_

As he entered a park, Izuku finally slowed down. Aware that he had arrived at his destination. And like all the times before, the person he was looking for was waiting for him in front of the park's fountain.

 _'For the first time ever, I'm meeting a girl who likes me.'_

"Izuku-kun!" She called out for him the instant she saw him approach. And she greeted him with a big happy smile that warmed his heart every time he saw it.

"Yamato-san! Sorry I'm late." He said, returning her smile with one of his own.

 _'My first girlfriend ever.'_

"Huh? What happened?! Why are you all wet?" She asked after finally noticing the state of his hair and clothes. "It is not raining is it?" She looked up to the sky searching in vain for dark clouds that could explain the damp state of her boyfriend.

"Sorry, on my way here, I stopped to save a kid from the river." Izuku explained, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I had to jump into it and got all wet."

"You jumped in…?" Yamato looked at him in awe. The way he casually saved someone's life and arrived on time for their meeting, it make him look so noble and grandiose.

 _'She is so cute.'_

"I-I have a towel," She broke away from staring at him too much, and offered him a way to dry himself. "But I don't think it would be enough." It was a hand towel after all, and he was completely soaked from the head down. "You should've gone home to change first."

"I didn't want to keep you waiting." These words made Yamato heart to flutter and her face to redden. The conviction on his voice and his commitment to his word and promises to her, made him seem even more manly in her eyes.

"You could've called or texted, you know." called out a girl with light periwinkle hair, grey glasses and dressed in the same type of uniform as Yamato's, as she passed them by, having heard their conversation. Both Izuku and Yamato looked embarrassed at the girl, both for being loud enough to have others hear them and for not having though about her point beforehand. "Also you should take off your wet uniform, otherwise you'll get a cold." The girl pointed out as matter-of-factly as possible, before continuing on her way, leaving the dumfounded couple behind.

The couple just watched her go in silence, until finally Izuklu spoke out. "I guess, she is right." Although he couldn't remove everything, since he had no other clothes, he could at least take off his uniform coat and shirt. Without giving it a second thought, Izuku took off said items of clothing, leaving him with a sleeveless white undershirt.

Yamato watched him astonished. She hadn't noticed before, but her boyfriend had such a nice toned body, and the wet undershirt that clung to his body only accentuate his previously hidden muscles. it was difficult to correlate his shy, kind boyfriend with the hunk she was seeing in. Not that she was complaining or anything.

"Yamato-san…?" Izuku's voice brought her back to the present, and she realized she was caught staring intently at his body. Embarrassed and red beyond belief she just turned away, not able to meet him in the eye. Meanwhile, Izuku hadn't noticed anything at all, in fact he misinterpreted the situation, believing that he was the one acting shameful for stripping without caring about Yamato's sensibilities. "I'm s-sorry! I should've…"

"No, no, it's okay!"

' _A girlfriend is someone who calls and texts when there's no real reason_ ,'

After drying off a bit thanks to Yamato's hand towel, the young couple sat down on their usual bench to eat another of Yamato's wonderful baked goods.

"I baked Roll Cake today." She said pulling two wrapped cakes from her backpack. From just sight, Izuku could tell it was going to be delicious. "A friend asked me to bake this the other day… I don't know if it is good or not…" It was the first time she tried it, and she was worried that Izuku wouldn't like it. "This one got strawberries in it. And this one got bananas in the batter…"

 _'Someone who bakes cakes when it's not your birthday.'_

Izuku took the one with strawberries in it, and with a big bit he took out a good chuck of it. There was no hesitation at all, no worries about the flavor. Because it was baked by Yamato's expert hands, so it couldn't be anything but delicious. And he let her know.

"It's delicious, Yamato-san." He declared before he at the rest of the cake with gusto.

"Izuku-kun. You say that about everything!" She laughed, feeling happy that Izuku found her first attempt at Roll Cake enjoyable.

"It's because they are made by you, they are so sweet." His words, honest and without guile, once again made her heart flutter, and she rewarded him with another one of her smiles that in turn warmed his heart.

 _'A girlfriend is someone who smiles at you even for the little things.'_

(—)

They remained in the park, enjoying each other's company talking about the things that happened in school. Yamato told him about some of her friends and how worried they were about receiving word for their High School applications. And how happy they were for Yamato when she told them she got her acceptance letter for U.A.

Meanwhile Izuku told her how impressed his teachers were when they received word that he too was going to U.A., calling it a miracle among miracles. Something he agree upon. Although something he omitted was his "conversation" with Kacchan when he found out Izuku's acceptance.

 _"WHAT DIRTY TRICK DID YOU USE TO PASS THE EXAM, YOU SH*THEEL!"_

 _"I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST FROM THIS SCHOOL TO ENTER U.A.! ME ALONE!"_

 _"I TOLD YOU TO GO SOMEPLACE ELSE, YOU F*CKING NERD!"_

Kacchan had been angry. He had expected that. But unlike before, Izuku stood up against his former childhood friend turned bully, not only for himself but also for the people who believed in him, who put their trust in him, and that acknowledged his dream of becoming a hero.

 _"Y-You can't stop me… I'm headed to U.A. as well…!"_ That was the first time he stood up against Kacchan, and for the sake of his well-being Izuku hoped it would be the last one.

Back in the present, the sun had already come down and the stars were slowly filling the night sky.

"Izuku-kun, do you want to walk through the park?" She suggested somewhat shyly.

"Isn't it getting a little late?" He pointed out. He also noticed it would be a detour for the both of them.

"W-We can get a good view of the stars." She explained, causing Izuku to no further protest. He would accompany Yamato to see the stars, if she so desired. That was what good boyfriends did after all.

They walked side by side through the park keeping an eye to the sky above, watching the stars settle in. "You're right. The stars look beautiful tonight." Izuku realized that it had been a long time since he stoped and appreciate the stars. He had been to preoccupied with school, and the entrance exam, that he had forgotten how pretty the night sky could be.

"It's nice and dark so they really stand out." Yamaro said beside him. "There really isn't anyone around here, huh?" She suddenly pointed out.

"Yeah, it is really quiet." Izuku said, still marveled at the stars above. Somehow they looked prettier than he could ever remembered. In fact lately the world around him seemed more brighter than usual.

"I-It's j-just the t-two of us." She pointed out again, this time sounding more nervous. Izuku finally tore away his gaze from the sky and turned towards Yamato, finally noticing how red her face was and how uncomfortable she seemed.

Had Izuku being more socially adept, he would've realized that the situation he was currently in , the two of them alone in the park with the starry night sky above them, was ripe with romantic opportunities. Instead, his mind went the opposite side and misinterpreted Yamato's anxiousness with distress.

"Don't worry Yamato-san!" He suddenly exclaimed trying to reassure her. "I won't try anything!"

"Huh?" She looked at him totally confused.

"Until we're are both grown-up I won't lay a single finger on you!"

"S-Sure… thank you…" She said softly, masking her disappointment from showing on her face. "We better head home soon…"

"Sure! I'll walk you home!" Meanwhile Izuku mentally pat himself on the back for a job well done.

 _'I'll treasure her. With all my body and soul.'_

After walking with her all the way home. They both bid each other goodbye. And once he was sure she was safe inside, Izuku made his way back to his home. Once more his gaze went up to admire the night sky. "The moon is pretty too…" he mused.

 _'Today was a good day.'_

 ***Beep**Beep**Beep***

Startled for a second, Izuku searched his pocket and found his cellphone ringing and vibrating. It was an Alarm to remind him of something.

"I FORGOT!" He shouted once he remembers what the alarm was for. "I forgot about All Might!" With reckless abandon he ran towards where he was suppose to meet the number one hero, forgetting completely he could've taken the bus there.

(—)

 **At Seaside Park 8:30 PM**

"AAALL MIIIGHT!" Izuku cried out once he made it to the meeting place.

"Who are you calling All Might!?" the number one hero, in his 'deflated form, admonished while spewing blood from his mouth.

 _"Did someone say All Might?! Where, where!?"_ A couple who had been enjoying the beach now that it was mysteriously cleaned, overheard them.

"Quick, tell them you mistook me for someone else." All Might instructed so that his secret identity wouldn't be revealed. After Izuku did so, and the heat was off them, All Might finally could talk with the boy. "Seriously, don't call me All Might when I'm like this." He said while pointing at his current form, "If you must call me something, call me Yagi Toshinori."

"Is that some sort of codename?" Izuku asked curious, only to earn a flat look from All Might.

"That's my name."

"SERIOUSLY?!"

"Of course it's my name!" He spew some more blood. It was true he never disclosed his true name to the media, but Izuku's reaction was a little too much for him. Had he come to believe his actual name was All Might?

"S-Sorry!"

"Anyway congrats on passing." All Might, or better said, Yagi-san revealed to Izuku he hadn't been one of the judges that gave him his 60-Rescue Points that allowed him to pass the Entrance Exam, nor had he informed the faculty about the connection with one an other. Knowing the boy was most likely to worry about passing because of preference or nepotism.

Still there was important things they had to talk about.

"I told the academy about my predicament, but I haven't breathed a word about it to anyone else." He informed to his young pupil. "I had them notify me on the chance they found me a suitable successor." There was talk of a 3rd-Year student, named Togata Mirio, who looked like the most promising candidate. Not that he could tell the boy about him.

"One For All…" The young boy began somewhat dejectedly. "Just one punch or kick is all it takes to wreck my body… So I really can't handle it at all." Yagi knew his pupil was prone to self-depreciating thoughts, so it was better to steer him away from those.

"That can't be helped for now." Yagi used the image of a man sprouting a tail all of the sudden and his inabilities to do tricks , as an example why Izuku was having trouble with his recently acquired Quirk. "Right now, you are still stuck at all or nothing. But you can learn to tone down and adjust the power level and save your body the strain of a Full-Strength Emission." He explained carefully. "The more you build up the vessel, the more you can control the power within it."

"So that means I gotta keep working on my body." He still had some time to keep on working up his body. Being still early February, that meant he had more than a month and a half before the start of his first term of high school. Ample time to work his body, but not his Quirk. Since using it would wreck his body and it would take time to heal, unless of course he had a way to recover fas…!

"All Migh…I mean, Yagi-san! I know of a way to train my Quirk!" he announced excitedly, earning a rise eyebrow from his hero. "I know of someone who could help me train! Yamato-san has this Quirk that can heal and with it…" Midway through his explanation something even more important dawned on him. "Wait! YAGI-SAN! I know of someone with a healing Quirk, maybe we can…!"

"I have to stop you right there Midoriya, my boy." All Might interrupted him, lifting up his arm and showing him his open palm as a signal to stop. "I know what you want to suggest, but it is impossible."

"What do you mean, All M… Yagi-san?"

"Remember what I told you about my injury. My respiratory system is in shambles and my stomach was scooped out." He reminded by lifting up his shirt, making his pupil flinch. "I went through constant surgeries with the best doctors around, most of them with incredibly powerful or specific healing Quirks and I still wasted away until my current state." Then after covering his injury he gave Izuku a soft smile. "I'm glad you have faith about helping me, but I doubt his person's Quirk can cure what expert doctors with years of experience couldn't. After all, you can't cure what isn't there anymore."

Izuku looked down to his feet, dejected. Of course it was foolish of him to think Yamato's Quirk would be the answer to their problems. As useful as it was, ultimately it wouldn't work the way they wanted. From what Yamato had told him, her Healing Tears only reverted injuries back to a healthier state. But as All Might said, you cannot heal what wasn't there anymore. Her tears couldn't make a missing finger grow back, much less an scooped out stomach.

"It's nice to know you think about me," All Might snapped the boy out of his funk when he placed a hand on his shoulder. "But I'd prefer if you focus your energy on yourself, since you are now the torchbearer of One For All." He gave him one of his famous smiles. "So tell me Midoriya, my boy, about this training you have thought up."

Izuku proceeded to tell him about how with the help of this healing Quirk, he could try training with his Quirk during the two week break, before classes start. That if he injured himself during training, he wouldn't have to worry about hospitalization or worrying his mother. That way, he could be much more prepared for when he finally arrives at U.A.

All Might could see the merits of this sort of training, but he still had some questions.

"This person with the healing Quirk. Yamato-san, was it? Is he your friend? When did you meet him?" Of their many conversation during the last months, Izuku never told him about any friends he had, if he had any to begin with.

"I met Yamato-san a week ago." Izuku explained. "Right after the Entrance Exam…" He wondered if the man was even aware or not about the incident at the train station and how he was suspended from school for a week. "A lot of things happened this last week." Understatement of the year. "As for if we are friends… the Truth is that Yamato-san is… my…G-Girlfriend." he stuttered a little bit at the end there, feeling somewhat embarrassed telling his idol about his relationship status.

"G-G-GIRLFRIEND!?" So shocked by the news he was, that he spewed a lot of blood from his mouth. "W-When…? H-How…?"

"Actually…" Izuku turned red, he couldn't believe he was going to have this conversation with All Might of all people. "What happened was…"

 ***Beep***

His phone suddenly ringed, indicated he had received a message. Knowing it could only be two people, either his mom or Yamato-san, who could be texting him at that moment, Izuku pulled out his phone and read.

"It's from Yamato-san!" Izuku informed, "She is asking me when we could meet again." He then texted her back while talking out-loud. "I had fun too. I'm free on Wednesday. See you then." Slowly but surely he was getting better at sending texts to his girlfriend, still he had a lot to learn. Izuku was about to pocket his phone, when he realized what time it was.

"Shoot! Is it this late?! Mom's gonna be worried sick!" putting his phone away, he gave a quick bow towards All Might, who was still standing still in front of him reeling from the news. "Excuse me, All M… I mean, Yagi-san! I gotta go back home! See you later!" and with that he dashed away to make his way back home.

Meanwhile All Might just stood there, watching him go.

"A girlfriend…?" He honestly couldn't believe it.

How? Why? When?

He was curious, but the boy had left before answering his questions.

"A girlfriend…" What happened to his shy Otaku of a pupil? Since when had he grown to the point of talking with girls with enough confidence to get himself a girl? Him? That clingy fanboy still wet behind his ears? That boy got a girlfriend…! Before Toshinori himself!

"I can't believe it!" There had to be something going on. Something he wasn't aware about, that could explain this. Something like…!

"A PLOY!" Yes! That would explain it!

Izuku was still young and naive of the schemes and subterfuge that women were cable of. This so-called girlfriend of his could have his pupil fooled! He was aware how socially stunted the boy was! So much that taking advantage of his wide-eyed nature was a piece of cake for an woman with less than noble intentions! She could be using his student as a bodyguard, or as means to make another man jealous, or maybe she pretended to be his girlfriend as a dare and then she would break up with him in an humiliating manner!

Such were the nefarious wiles of bad girls everywhere.

Toshinori should know! He had suffered from such trickery on the past!

"Don't you worry Midoriya, my boy, I shall protect you from such deception! Why? Because I AM HERE!" He flexed his muscles and turned into his hero persona.

"Wait, isn't that All Might!? when did he get here!?" The same couple from before, asked out loud, noticing him after all his loud declaration.

"Uh oh!"

(—)

 **Minutes Earlier**

Yamato was staring intently at her phone screen she had just typed. Wondering if she could go through with it or not.

Izuku-kun,

The truth is I haven't been honest with you.

I don't know how to tell you this,

But…

Sighing in defeat, she clicked delate until there was nothing of her original text. Instead she wrote down:

 _Izuku-kun, *_ ** _Rainbow with sparkles_** _*_

 _Today was a fun day! *_ ** _Happy Face_** _**_ ** _Dancing Heart_** _*_

 _When can we see each other again? *_ ** _Musical notes_** _*_

 _I'll bake cookies! *_ ** _Cookie emoji_** _*_

In less than a minute of sending it, she receive a reply from Izuku.

I had fun too. * **Happy Face** *

I'm free on Wednesday. * **Thumbs up** *

See you then.

Yamato sighed sadly once more.

She better go back mixing the batter for those cookies she promised him.

* * *

 **A.N.**

Another Update! And finally ALL MIGHT IS HERE!

Something I noticed after reading up Japanese school calendars is that after the Izuku received his acceptance letter, and has his talk with All Might the next night, there is a "month and a half" time-jump to Springtime and izuku's first day at U.A.

I know the author wanted to get to U.A. as soon as possible. But I can't help but wonder what did Izuku do during that month and a half.


	7. Langue de Chat

**Chapter 7**

 **Yaveen Park 3:00 PM**

Yagi Toshinori was a man in a mission. Not like his usual ones were he would assume his Power-up form and chase after villains as All Might; No, this time, he was going as himself. He was going incognito, in an attempt to save his number one pupil from the clutches of a nefarious woman bent on taking advantage of the poor, naive boy.

Why else would a girl be the girlfriend of an obsessive fanboy like his boy, Midoriya? As much as he admired the boy's work ethic and dedication to become a hero, he knew Midoriya was socially stunted. While his profound desire to help others was commendable, his trusting nature made it easy for other people to take advantage of him.

Honestly, that boy was as gullible and wide-eyed as a baby red panda.

That's where Toshinori came in. As his mentor, it was his duty to look after the boy, and protect him from the evils of the world until he was ready to face them on his own. And one of the worst evils in the world were those who meddled and abused the matters of the heart.

Oh! Toshinori knew! He knew them so well! He too had fallen victim to nefarious vixens and hellish she-devils. Never had villains (excluding All For One) ever cause him any damage that compared to the hurt those shrews inflicted to his heart when he was a young man.

Toshinori would be damned if he let his number one pupil suffer the same as he did.

"Don't you worry, Midoriya, my boy! Why? Because I am here for you!"

Now, after some extensive investigative work — and by that he meant casually asking Izuku about it — Toshinori found out his student was meeting with his so-called girlfriend in Yaveen Park around 3:00 PM after classes were over. With this information, Toshinori would be able to scout and do some recon on the girl, and see if he could use his extensive experience as a hero to catch any signs of foul play from her.

But which girl was it?

"That one?" He focused on a young girl with light periwinkle hair that swept out at the ends that was leaning against a pillar under a roofed area. She was wearing dark gray glasses over light gray eyes, reading intently a book on her hands.

"Or that one?" He turned to look at a blond girl that did her hair in messy styled buns on either side of her head. She was sitting at one of the park benches with a creepy look on her face.

"What about that one?" He looked at a petite girl with long and fluffy strawberry blond hair that had big, expressive amber eyes, waiting near the fountain. "No she can't be the one. She's too cute."

"Oh! Izuku-kun! over here!" The girl Toshinori just dismissed, called and wave towards Izuku that just arrived to meet her.

"Seriously!?" The undercover hero was aghast! So much he couldn't help but spew blood. "No way…" Quickly getting over his surprise, he knew it was the time for a different tactic.

(—)

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Izuku apologized as he neared the fountain where Yamato was by.

"No, I haven't been waiting at all—"

"Midoriya, my boy! How are you?" Toshinori butted in, also greeting the boy as he approached them.

"Y-Yagi-san!" Izuku was startled for a second, but quickly got over it. "It's good to see you." Because of his upmost trust on the man, he thought nothing of the reason why they would run into each other in such a manner.

"It's been a while." Not really, just since Monday, but nobody was gonna argue about it. "Is this the girl you've been telling me about?" He asked looking at the young girl standing next to Izuku. Now that he was up close, he realized just how tiny she was. Of course, him being as tall as he was — 220 cm (7' 2½") tall—, he towered over most people. His own pupil — who was 166 cm (5' 5¼") tall — wasn't near tall enough to reach up to his shoulder blades, and he was a head taller than his girlfriend —who was 145 cm (4'9") tall —, with the size differences of the three of them, they made quite the picture.

"Yes she is! Yagi-san this is Yamato-san, my…g-grilfriend…" Both teens blushed at the introduction, Toshinori noting that they were still shy around one another. "Yamato-san, this is Yagi-san he is…uhm…" In his haste to present them to each other, Izuku forgot he had no idea how to explain his relationship with Yagi without revealing anything that pertain to him being All Might.

Thankfully, Toshinori came to the rescue.

"I'm his coach!" He said naturally, like a seasoned actor.

"Y-Yes! My coach! T-That's right!" Of course Izuku was the exact opposite. "He's helped me train for months in preparation for the U.A. Entrance Exam." Still, it had managed to convince Yamato that this was the case. Besides, it wasn't like they were lying, they were just omitting certain details.

Yamato in turn, just looked at the giant of a man with awe. Not because of his height, thought it make a potent impression, but because it was clear that Izuku had great esteem for the man.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Yamato Rinko." She bowed her head in respect. "Thank you for taking care of Izuku-kun for so long."

"Y-You're welcome." perplexed by the girl's sudden formality for just a moment, Toshinori returned back the bow as it was proper. "My name is Yagi Toshinori, it is nice to meet you to. Please take care of my pupil as well."

Meanwhile, Izuku just smiled. Happy that two of the most important people in his life had meet without a hitch. Hoping that everyone would get along just fine.

"When Young Midoriya told me he got himself a girlfriend I couldn't believe it." Toshinori 'confessed', secretly gauging the girl's responses. "So tell me, Young Yamato, what do you like about my young pupil?"

"Huh?" Yamato was caught off guard, she hadn't expected that sort of question directed at her.

"Y-Yagi-san…!?" Izuku almost shouted, alarmed by the straight forwardness of the question.

"Just an honest question Midoriya, my boy!" The man waved off, still eyeing the girl, awaiting for her answer.

"Um…Um…" She took a small peek at Izuku who just looked back with a red but curious face, making Yamato even more nervous and hesitant to answer. "I-I can't put into words. But.. I-I like him!

"Hmm…" Toshinori remained silent, pondering the girl's words. She can't put it into words, she said. and that she liked him. Maybe, that is how it was. "I see…" But there was still something off about it.

"Oh, I baked cookies!" Yamato said, desperate to change topics, afraid of more embarrassing questions coming her way. "Would you like some too?" She offered to the giant man. "Feel free to eat some."

The trio then sat down, not on the couple's usual bench but on a small ledge that separated the walk paths from the greenery. Toshinori sat to Izuku's right while Yamato sat on his left, leaving the green haired boy sandwiched between the two.

As Yamato presented Izuku with her box of baked cookies, Toshinori couldn't help but be amazed at the variety of shapes and colors for the icing. "You made these? They look amazing." They looked like the kind a professional baker would make, something unexpected from a high school girl.

"Thank you." She accepted the compliment with a small blush adorning her face. "I've been really into icing lately. So I used icing on _Langue de Chat_ \- style cookies." She then proceeded to explain very enthusiastically about the different kinds of icings she used and what sort of variations she wanted to try in the future.

It was obvious to Toshinori that she had a passion for baking and talking sweets. Sort of like Izuku when he talked about Heroes and Quirks. It seemed that the couple shared Otaku-ish qualities.

"Yamato-san is really good at baking!" Izuku asserted wth a enthusiastic nod. "Her cakes are great too!" he continue praising. "Every sweet treat she bakes is delicious!"

"You know, eating too much sweets isn't very good for your diet or health." Toshinori pointed out, much to the sudden horror of both teens. "As your Coach, believe me on this."

"Y-YAGI-SAN YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG…!"

"I'M SORRY! I NEVER MEANT…!"

The young couple proceeded to bombard him with apologizes upon explanations and excuses. It was almost comical how in-sync they were at the moment.

"It's fine, it's fine! Don't worry about it." Toshinori said, trying to calm down the two of them. "As long as you keep up your physical training and your healthy diet, then it is fine to indulge in sweets."

"Yes, Yagi-san! I've been working out extra to compensate!" Izuku explained, finally reassured that he could still enjoy Yamato's baking without admonishment. To his left, Yamato sighed in relief, sharing his sentiment.

"You're lucky, to have such a pretty girlfriend Midoriya, my boy!" The blond man said in approval. "She's very nice too."

"Yamato-san is great, the nicest person I've met." Izuku kept on praising her, making his girlfriend blush and smile.

"That's not true!" She tried to wave off. Too embarrassed with all the eulogies sent towards her. "I'm not that great!"

"No need to be modest, Yamato-san." The boy insisted. It was clear he was smitten with her. "You are a good person." After hearing his words of praise, she just smiled and nodded, silently accepting them.

Still, Toshinori had this gut feeling there was something off about her. Not very apparent, just the look in her eyes told him there was something left unsaid. So far, he hadn't gotten anything concrete, just mere speculation. So further prying was in order.

But first, a cookie! Since they looked so nice, it would be shame to not taste at least one.

Taking one with pink icing, Toshinori was ready to eat. "Itadakimasu." He said before taking a bite of the nice looking cookie. It was a shame it didn't taste as sweet as it look. "S-So Salty!" He had taken just one bite out of it, and he felt in need some water.

Before anyone could tell him no, Izuku also took a bit from a cookie. Too confirm if what All Might had said was true or not. "It really is salty!"

"Huh?" Yamato was stunned by the critique. Why would her cookies taste salty, she wondered. That is until she realized. "I mixed up the salt and the sugar!" Such a terrible mistake! Now her cookies were inedible.

"These are quite…savory…" Izuku commented as he ate another one. It was obvious that he was forcing himself to eat them despite of the saltiness.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry izuku-kun! Please don't eat them!" The idea of giving him such spoiled cookies was horrifying! What if Izuku would never want to eat anything she baked ever again? "I can't believe this is happening! I'm so sorry!" She then tried to take the box of horrid cookies away from Izuku, but the boy just stopped her.

"Yamato. It is no problem." He reassured her with a very determined look on his face. "I want to eat them, you worked so hard for my sake, after all." His declaration left no room for argument, and in Yamato's eyes Izuku ended up looking even more noble. "It is true these are salty, but they aren't bad. if I can eat my mom's pickled cucumbers I can eat these!" He then continued to eat them, much to Yamato's delight and Toshinori's amazement.

To eat the cooking —or in this case baking — of the girl you liked despite the lackluster flavor, was a staple of a manly man. Since when his naive young Otaku of a pupil become so cool?

"I see you enjoy, Young Yamato's baking…" Toshinori said earning the attention of the young couple. "Tell me, my boy, what else do you like about her?"

Again, this question caused the teens to flush, Yamato much more than Izuku.

"T-That's a little so s-sudden…" She covered her face and fidgeted in place, but there was no denying that her eyes had this curious shine to them.

Meanwhile, Izuku remained silent pondering how to answer the question. Since Yamato had answered it was only fair for him to do so, despite how red his face felt.

So what did he liked about Yamato? Well everything about her of course! But he felt that line to be a little too vague. it didn't exactly conveyed what he found so appealing about her. For one he adored how cute she could be, not only in appearance, but in the way she talked, walked and even texted. But he abstained thinking his words might be taken the wrong way. Aside from cuteness, what defined Yamato to him was how generous and kind she was. Her gentle soul that made her care for a guy like him that had so little going on. How she was able to look beneath and beyond his obvious flaws. To him she was like an angel.

"I love how pure-hearted she is." Izuku finally said. Sure that these were the correct words to express his appreciation for Yamato.

But as he said this words, Toshinori noticed something. Having been eyeing Yamato while Izuku answered, he managed to caught Yamato's reaction. For just a second, the light behind her eyes dimmed and a look guilt passed through them, before she recovered and put on a smile for Izuku.

"I see…"

(—)

"It is getting late, you kids better get going." Toshinori said looking at the darkening sky above them.

"It's true." Izuku nodded. "I'll walk you home, Yamato." He offered as expected of a dutiful boyfriend.

"It was nice meeting you, Yagi-san." She bowed respectfully to the man. "Please take care."

"Good night, Young Yamato." He returned the bow. "As for you Midotiya, my boy, I expect you to keep up your daily routine, you'll gonna needed if you plan to keep enjoying Young Yamato's sweets."

"I will, Yagi-san!"

"See you later, my boy!" He waved at them both before walking away. His mind processing what he had learned that day. it was true Yamato seemed nice and treated Izuku well, but there was something else beneath the surface.

' _There is another side to that girl._ ' He didn't know what it was, but he was sure of it. _'She is hiding something from him.'_ She wasn't being totally honest with Izuku. He didn't know if she was cheating on his boy or something else…

"There is something she feels guilty about…"

(—)

The young couple walked mostly silent all the way to Yamato's house while the sky filled with stars. Once they arrived though, Yamato spoke sounding anxious.

"Izuku-kun…um, uh…" She fidgeted looking away from him. "The thing is…"

"Yamato-san…?" Izuku looked at her with concern, what had gotten her so worked-up all of the sudden? He tried to mentally guess, but he came out with nothing. ' _I guess I really am socially inept._ ' He felt that if he had had more people skills, he would've known what was troubling Yamato.

"No, it's nothing!" Yamato suddenly declared putting on a smile. "Goodnight, Izuku-kun." She bid him goodbye, dashing towards her front door, before Izuku could get a word out.

"Good…night…" Izuku waved her goodbye for the night. Feeling troubled for what just happened and his utter inability to help with whatever was causing distress to his girlfriend.

He slowly walked away before anyone accused him of loitering or even stalking in front of her house. His mind desperately seeking answers. But more importantly than answers he wanted to know what to do to help her. Alas, he came up with nothing.

How he cursed, his social inexperience! People always said that you can always tell what your special someone was thinking without the need of words, and he had failed at it!

Still he wouldn't allow his social failing get in the way of helping Yamato. There has to be a way he could find out! There had to be!

"Wait! That's it!" how could've not seen it before?

With new found spirit, Izuku ran all the way towards a new destination before going home for the night.

* * *

 **A.N**

Shorter chapter than usual, but hey, it was a nice place to stop for now.

All Might acting as a concerned Dad was fun to write.

Also, Internet cookies for whoever can identify the other two girls at the park.


	8. Convenience Store Bentō

**Chapter 8**

Toshinori was rightfully tired. Not only had he spent most of the day doing paperwork back in U.A. in preparation for his tenure as a teacher this next semester, he had already spent his limited time in his Power-up form for the day, chasing after criminals. It had being a busy and tiresome day, he didn't have time to dedicatee to his "investigation".

Oh well, tomorrow would be another day. For the rest of this day, he would just relax, catch-up on the news and maybe eat some Deluxe Bentou from the convenience store. Speaking of which, that's where he was headed. His final stop before finally going home for the day.

"Seriously, he is so creepy." a girlish voice said, and Toshinori assumed they were talking about him. He was accustomed to people being put off by his tall, lanky appearance and skeletal face. But surprisingly enough, the voice wasn't talking about him for once. Instead, Toshinori noticed two girls standing outside the shop, taking pictures through the window.

"This is seriously scary." she said amused.

"So hilarious." Committed her friend, before the two of them moved on giggling at whatever they had seen inside the store.

Now Toshinori was a curious person and as a Hero, it was in his job description to pry and meddle where it wasn't his business. Still, he wasn't one to snoop around after little girls' chit-chat, but since whatever they were talking about was inside the store he was gonna shop at, there was no harm in looking.

As he neared the window, he took a peek to find whatever is it that the girls were making fun of, and what he found inside left the hero aghast. Standing right there at the magazine rack, was none other than his disciple Midoriya, engrossed reading a magazine.

Oh, but it wasn't any magazine. No.

It was a teen girl magazine.

You know the ones. Those magazines that pandered to the female demographic through articles about celebrity gossip, fashion trends, hairstyles, tips about dating, horoscopes, and cute boys.

A male reading one of those magazines on the open was bad enough, but adding Izuku's otaku-ish appearance and his incessant muttering, and it really painted a creepy picture for any onlookers.

"Midoriya, my boy, what are you doing?" Toshinori quickly stepped in after entering the store.

"Oh! All M… I mean, Yagi-san!" Izuku stopped his eerie mutterings to look at the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Buying dinner." answered flatly, before focusing back on the issue at hand, or better said the magazine issue in Izuku's hands. "Again, what are you doing?"

"Oh! I'm learning about how girls think!" Reading has always been an efficient way to learn about something you didn't know, and what better teaching material than the books — or in this case, magazines — that girls liked to read. "I know I'm socially inept." He said dejectedly. He wasn't unaware how all those years as a social pariah had affected him. But he never let that fact worry him before, since he had being more focused on Quirks and heroes more than anything. But now that he had a girlfriend he realized how bad it was for him to have neglected that aspect of his life. "I have trouble reading people, especially girls." In fact for many years, the only female he had ever directed more than a single sentence was his own mother. "It took Yamato-san screaming that she liked me for me to realized the same. If she doesn't tell me things straight, I'll never have a clue." He confessed somewhat ashamed. "Last night, I noticed she was upset about something, but I have no idea what could've happened. If only she told me what's wrong I would be able to help her."

Toshinori looked at the boy with small awe, surprised by his dedication towards Young Yamato. It was obvious he cared a whole lot more than a simple crush. It wasn't simple infatuation, he was in love with the girl. That is why Toshinori worried about the boy. If he got his heart crushed, then it would torn him apart worse than One For All would to an unworthy vessel.

"Maybe… it is something she can't tell you?" The blond man offered his two cents. "Maybe it is something she cannot tell her boyfriend." He dreaded to tell the boy the next part, but he had to warn him. At least a heads up to open his mind at the worst case scenario and soften the blow when it came. "Like she is lying to you, or that she is falling for someone else…"

Toshinori watched as his pupil shiver in place. The mere mention of these possibilities shaking him to the core. Terrifying him. But after a mere twelve seconds he stopped. And he had not a pessimistic look on his face but a determined one.

"Doesn't matter." Izuku finally said. "It will be fine. It is more important to me that Yamato is upset about it." He took a deep sigh. "If it is as you say, it would hurt me, but I think it would hurt more knowing I am the one causing her pain."

"Midoriya…" Toshinori was astonished. Never expecting such a grown-up and mature response from the boy. "I'm so sorry…"

"What for?" the green head asked puzzled by his mentor sudden apology.

"It seems I've been underestimating you, my boy…" he placed one of his hands on the boy's shoulder. "I didn't realized exactly how much you have grown these past months…" His growth was beyond the hero's expectations. "I'm proud of you."

"Y-Yagi-san…" Izuku had no idea what prompted this, but he was overjoyed receiving such nice words from his idol

"Come, I'll walk you home." The man offered as he guided the boy's hand to leave the magazine back to where it belonged.

"But I haven't finished studying…" Izuku wanted to protest, but them man just waved it off.

"You don't need those magazines. Why? Because I am here!" He reassured with one of his famous smiles, although the didn't quite look the same outside of his Powered-up Persona. "Don't you worry Midoriya, my boy, leave it up to me! Everything will be All Right. Or better said, All Might."

"All Might!" Izuku couldn't help but cheer, grateful his idol would help him.

 _"Did someone say All Might?"_

 _"Where I don't see him"_

"Uh oh."

(—)

Although Izuku didn't see Yamato that day, he still texted her. Like always her texts showcased her bright personality and cuteness. But with what had happened the night before, he managed to see there was something off about them.

 ** _*Heart**Heart*_** _Good Night_ ** _*Heart**Heart*_**

 _Izuku-kun,_ ** _*Blushy Face*_**

 _I wonder if the moon_ ** _*Moon Emoji*_** _and the stars_ ** _*Shinny Star*_** _are watching us ～_

 _I've never seen a shooting star before,_ ** _*Shooting Star*_**

 _But I'd like to watch a meteor shower with you._ ** _*Small Heart with Stars*_**

Izuku stared at the text with a tense look before replying.

 _I too haven't seen a shooting star._

 _I wish to see one with you._

 _Good Night._

He sighed, after reading those girly magazines he hadn't come close to getting clue about what was bothering Yamato.

"Yamato-san…" Did their relationship strained her? Was she pushing herself too hard for their relationship? for him? or because of him?

It was all so confusing.

The only thing Izuku knew for sure was that he wanted to see Yamato happy. And he desperately wanted him to be a reason that made her happy. Because she made him happy. More than he could remember being.

 _'Ever since we started dating, I've looked back on each day and think: "Today was a good day".'_

But if their relationship was hurting Yamato in any way, he was prepared to let her go, no matter how much it hurt. How did that famous saying go? ' _If you love something, set it free…_ '? Or something amount those lines.

At the ned of the day, he only wanted to make her happy.

"I want to see you smiling."

(—)

 **Orudera Middle School**

Ok, so the Teen Girl Magazine route didn't help at all, so Izuku decided to go to another source of girl literature.

 _Shoujo Manga._

Izuku wasn't a fan of manga in general. He had read the occasional comic book here and there, but never really dedicated himself to the medium as he did to watching the news or reading up on Heroes on the Internet. His near obsession of dissecting and classifying Quirks was well know about by the entire school's popluace.

So it was really weird seeing the local Hero Otaku reading Manga so intently. Especially Shoujo Manga. And a stack of it, by the looks of it.

 _Ao Haru Ride._

 _Sukitte Ii na yo._

 _Lovely Complex._

 _Kimi ni Tokode_

Strangely enough, these sudden development hadn't affect Izuku in the way he expected. Well, the girls only confirmed their ideas of him being a worse otaku than before. But with the male population? He was honestly surprised…

Because he was Quirkless, — well this wasn't the case anymore but he never said anything about it— he had being at the very bottom of the totem pole in terms of social status. Meaning that everyone else above him had free reign when it come to ignoring him, jeering at him, or in some cases bullying him. But now, that he was reading Shoujo Manga out in the open something strange happened.

The Anime and Manga Otaku's — who were second to last in social status — came flocking towards him. Even those who weren't in his class. They talked to him when they had previously ignored him. Maybe it was because they wanted to recruit him into their group now that he had shown interest in Manga, or because he had elevated a few spots now that it was known he was going to U.A. but whatever the case they were now being friendly with him.

They even brought him more Shoujo Manga for him to read.

"Here Deku, read this one, it is essential for Shoujo Enthusiasts!" They said as they plop more manga unto his stack.

 _Skip Beat!_

"These one is a real Tear jerker!"

 _Orange._

"Don't forget this one! You'll die of cuteness overload!"

 _Kaichou wa Maid-sama._

"Thank you guys…" Izuku said slightly moved by their help. "You guys are a real help! I'll promise to read them all!" He had no plans to meet Yamato-san that day so he had time to spare for reading. "I'll return all of these tomorrow!"

"Wow! That's true dedication! Even with Finals approaching!"

"We should've invited you sooner Deku!"

"Truly an example for all of us."

"If only life were like these Manga…"

"I totally want a girlfriend!"

"Maybe in High School I'll get better luck."

"You!? Fat chance!"

Izuku laughed nervously. Despite being the bottom on the social ladder and ostracized for so long, he didn't mind not being included with these guys. They were well-meaning, but they were weird.

Thankfully, the rest of the group the male population left Izuku alone. Even Kacchan ignored him, not before sending his one of his famous death glares of course. And so Izuku studied the characters and the stories to see if he could figure out a way to better understand how girls thought.

(—)

Toshinori was a man on a mission once again. These time he would forgo espionage for the direct route. He would confront Yamato Rinko for the sake of his number one pupil.

That is why he was casually waiting outside of the girl's school, Takodana Girls Academy. He had gotten the name and location of her school, not from Iuzku, but from the records of her U.A. application. He was going to "ambush" her in a place she would consider safe in order to throw her of balance so that it would be easier to extract a confession out of her.

It may seem callous, specially for a Hero, but it was a line he was willing to cross in order to spare Young Midoriya from further heartache.

After the final ring that signaled the end of classes for the day, Toshinori waited around ten minutes before Yamato finally stepped out from the building and walked across the opened entrance gate.

"Young Yamato!" Toshinori called for her attention.

"Huh?" She looked around confused for a second before she finally located the giant of a man she had met a few days before. "Ah! Yagi-san, hello!" She greeted before she looked around for someone else. "Huh? Where's Izuku-kun?"

"He is not coming." He said as serene as possible as to not startle or scare off the girl. "Young Yamato, would you mind if we spoke in private for a few minutes."

She gave him a confused look but she ended up nodding in agreement. He was a man that Izuku highly respected so there was no need to worry or suspect him.

"Let's go to Yaveen Park." He offered, "We'll talk when we get there."

"Okay…"

(—)

Toshinori had popuselly chosen this place to talk, not only so they could speak privately but because of the significance of the place. This was they place where Izuku and she met most of the time, and being here would evoke the feelings she associated with his pupil.

"I will speak with bluntness…" Toshinori began, finally breaking the silence that had formed when they made their way to the park from her school. "Young Yamato, you are hiding a secret from Young Midoriya, aren't you?" The straightforwardness of his words was enough to make her flinch. Surprised by the sudden allegation. "My boy Midoriya noticed too. He knows you are hidding something." He revealed to let her know where she stood exactly. "But because he doesn't know what it is, he's worried sick about it."

"Izuku-kun is…?" She whispered, worry evident in her voice.

"As his coach I worry about him too." Toshinori continued. "So please talk to me. If it is something you can't talk with him, then tell me instead." He insisted, "I won't tell Young Midoriya. But please tell me about it so I know how to help him."

After hearing his argument, Yamato's eyes started to moisten. The clear light of guilt shinned behind those big amber eyes of hers.

"O-of course…" She finally said with some difficulty. "Izuku-kun is that g-good of a person…" her voice was starting to crack. "But me? To be honest…" She paused, hesitant and afraid to continue. Yet in the end her conscience made her confess. "I'm not… the good person Izuku-kun thinks I am!"

'I KNEW IT!' Toshinori refrained from voicing his reaction and remain vigilant of the girl and prompt her to continue. "What do you mean by that."

Unable to face the man because of her shame, she turn her back towards him. For a moment Toshinori feared she would try to run away, but instead she remained and began talking. "You know, Izuku-kun… has really nice skin…"

"Well that is because he eats healthy and always sleeps well." Toshinori responded, "He wakes up early and his pores are really small too."

"And his messy hair looks so good on him…"

"I guess it gives him a sort of wild-feeling to his usual meek look." The man evaluated, placing a hand under his chin.

"And his shoulders and nice pecs really get to me!"

"Yes, he worked hard to get the body he has now." He should know he supervised the boy's training for 10 months. So many memories…

"And his freckles are so cute and his lips so sexy…"

"He does have this foreigner American-like look to him now that I think about it." Not really a look you will find in Japan that often.

"And his hands are big too. Makes my heart race."

"Well you know what they say about a man with big hands…" They get a lot of work done.

"But Izuku-kun said that until we become adults, we won't lay so much of a finger on me…" She started to cry and that's when Toshinori snapped back to the present. "He seems to think that I'm a really pure girl, but that's wrong!"

"Oi, oi, oi,…" Just what was this girl implying? Did she already…? Being so young too!

"In truth, I really…"

"You don't mean…?" He really hadn't expected this was how the conversation was gonna proceed.

"I really want to hold hands with Izuku-kun." She confessed her deepest desire and greatest shame. "I want to cuddle too."

"Huh?" Much to Toshinori incredulity.

"When I'm with him, I have these impure thoughts." She cried, tears flowing down her red cheeks down to the floor. "But how can I tell him that? If I did he'll stop liking me…" She buried her face into her hands. "He'll be disgusted with me…"

Toshinori remained quiet, watching her pour her heart out.

 _"It is more important to me that Yamato is upset about it."_ He remembered what his pupil said the day before.

"What are you talking about, Young Yamato!?" Toshinori finally spoke making the girl stop to turn and look at him "Young Midoriya isn't that fragile." Even if he, himself, had forgotten so until recently. "He wouldn't be disgusted or even stop liking you for something like that!" He said with 100% certainty. "He is the kind of person who'll try to accept you head-on, no matter what." That's one of the things that would help him become a great hero. "He is wide-eyed and a little too trusting, so I don't blame you for misreading him." That boy was so full of surprises after all. "But Young Midoriya told me… that if you don't tell things to him straight he won't get a clue. That if only you'd tell him, he would do his best to help you!" And he would put his whole heart to it too. "That's the kind of person my boy, Midoriya, actually is!"

Yamato looked at him with shock, but also awe, as if the clouds of doubt in her mind were finally dispersing, and the sunlight finally shine through.

"I…I'll go to his place right now!" She declared, her voice filled with determination.

"Go now, it will be fine!" He excused her to leave, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you!" She bowed to him "You are a good person!" And with that she started to run away.

Toshinori watch her go with a proud look, that is until she trip and fell down face first to the floor. Undeterred she pick herself up, dusted her skirt and run again, with a little more caution this time.

"She's pretty nice girl isn't she?" He sighed in relief before he made his way back home, sure that everything would be right with the two of them.

But not twenty minutes later, he found Izuku up in a tree.

"Please, Nii-chan, save my kitty!" A little girl cheered for his young pupil as he tried to grab a cat that was stuck on a branch. Unfortunately, everytime he reached for it, the cat would just swipe at him.

"What are you doing Midoriya, my boy?" The blond man couldn't help but ask.

"Ah! Yagi-san! I was trying to save this cat from the tree." He explained as the cat swiped at his approaching hand again.

"Come on Nii-chan you can do it!" The little girl keep on encouraging him.

"Saving a cat from a tree, huh?" Aside from helping an old lady cross the street, this was one of the most cliche boyscout-like acts of heroism a comic book hero of the old age would do. He couldn't help but chuckle at the boy. "You know, I saw Young Yamato earlier." He informed him. "She went running towards your house. And she was crying too."

As if a switch had suddenly being flipped inside his brain, the boy then took the cat ignoring the pain of it trying to scratch his hands and face before he jumped down. "Here you go." He offered the cat to the little girl before dashing of towards his house. "Sorry! I'll see you later Yagi-san!" He shouted as he disappeared on the distance.

"My boy, when did you become so cool?"Then he's proud gaze turn to something else. "I'm so envious!" He spew out blood. "Why is it that he can get such a nice girlfriend and I never could?" The injustice almost made him tear up. "When would it be my turn to find love?"

A thing was for sure, when it came to love, the student had surpassed the master.

(—)

 _'I've become a fast runner. Even though I was never the athletic kind of guy.'_

Izuku kept on running, never slowing down for anything. Expertly dodging the people that appeared in his path.

 _'I got endurance too.'_

Izuku decided to take a shortcut by running through the shopping district. Thankfully there wasn't many people that could slow him down.

 _'I'm glad I've become a runner. That I'm able to run for a long time.'_

He continued with his running pace, thanks to him knowing how to properly breath during intense workouts to avoid fatigue.

 _'All thanks to All Might and his training. It is because of him I can reach Yamato in time.'_

Izuku turn a sharp turn, exiting the shopping district, cutting the distance to travel to his house where Yamato was.

"YAMATOOO!" As soon as he managed to spot her.

Turning around, Yamato found Izuku running top speed towards her. "Izuku-kun!"

When Izuku came to a stop, he felt his lungs burning. And his heart beat like a drum. He took large breaths to calm down his insides and recover his ability to speak properly. "I heard from Yagi-san… that you were crying." He managed to say between breaths of air. "Are you feeling better now?"

"You came running… for me?" Yamato said amazed. It made her heart flutter to think he would go to such lengths just for her sake. Her boyfriend truly was something else.

"Yamato-san." He said, a little less winded, yet his face remained hot red. "You've been troubled by something right?" He asked as he approached her more. "Please tell me. Tell me everything you're thinking about." He pleaded. "Hit me with everything you've got! I won't fall no matter happens!" He repeated a line he liked in one of those old Super Hero comics he once read. "And then, smile! I love it when you smile!"

"Izuku-kun…" Her eyes watered, but seeing how strong and determined he looked, Yamato was inspired to finally confess her desires to Izuku. "I-I want to… hold hands with you." Her face turned hot. "And sometimes… I do want to snuggle and stuff…" She never felt so self-conscious as she felt in that moment in her entire life. "And for you to call me by my first name…" As soon she said this last thing, she bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry I'm not as pure a girl as you thought i was."

Izuku remained completely quiet and Yamato feared that he was disgusted by her improper thoughts. That he would no longer like her. That he would no longer be her boyfr…

But her thoughts were interrupted when Izuku took a hold of her hand. Surprised, she looked up to see him in the eye and found his face to be completely scarlet. "I-Is there a-anything else you'd like to d-do?" He said between stutters. Despite his shy nature, he was willing to get out of comfort zone to try and make her happy. "R-R-Rinko-san!"

Hearing him say her first name —despite the formal honorific — made her poor heart do a flip. She could barely believe this was happening. "M-Maybe I'd like to walk with you like this for a while." She indicated towards their linked hands. She wanted to remain like this for as long as possible.

"S-Sure!" Little hesitant at first, but they soon walked about, towards no place in particular, just enjoying the the act of holding hands with each other.

After a while they ended up in the same children's park where Izuku and Kacchan played at when they were younger. It was also the place where Kacchan and his friends beat him up. But right then, those memories didn't registered inside Izuku's mind. Because now he had a more pleasant memory to associate the place with. The place where Rinko and he hold hands for the first time.

"My heart feels like is going to jump out of my chest…" Rinko confessed, breaking the silence that had formed between the two the moment they start walking. "My hand is so sweaty…"

"M-Mine too…" Izuku said, to both of those things. "R-Rinko-san, is it okay for me to think that whenever I want to hold your hand, I don't need to hold back?" He asked, his face as red as before.

"Yes." she agreed with a nod.

"Then don't hold back either, R-Rinko-san."

"Okay…" Then she recalled what Izuku said a few days ago. "Izuku-kun…" About how he liked her because of her pure heart. "The day after I first met you… I went to your house, remember?" Izuku nodded, but remained silent letting her speak. "When I forgot my cellphone in your room… that was on purpose."

"Really?!" Izuku exclaimed honestly surprised by that revelation.

"I thought that I wouldn't see you again if I didn't have a reason…" She said ashamed of her deceit. "And I really wanted to see you again…" She confessed. "Izuku-kun, even though you said I was a good person… I'm sorry for lying to you."

' _I never suspected…_ ' That she went that far for someone like him. To him what she did wasn't something to be ashamed of, but instead something to be glad abut. "Rinko-san. Thank you very much!" If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be as happy as he was right in that moment. "I'm Happy!"

"I-I'm happy too…" She started to cry. "I was afraid if I told you the truth… you'd hate me for it…I'm so glad I can't help but cry…" But these were not sad tears, but ones of happiness.

"I don't think I could ever hate you, R-Rinko-san." He searched inside one of his pockets and took out a handkerchief to offer it to her. "So please, whatever is in your mind tell me and I'll always be there for you."

"Really?"

"For sure."

(—)

Later that night, once Izuku returned home after walking Yamato back home. He received a text from her.

 ***Flower*** Izuku-kun ***Flower***

I saw a shooting star! ***Shooting star Emoji***

My first one ever! ***Musical Note**Heart**Double Stars***

I was thinking of you at the time, ***Blushing Face***

So, I wished that we could be together forever! ***Heart made of Red String***

By then, the star had already gone.

Do you think it heard my wish?

Izuku started down at his phone, reading and re-reading the message with a fierce blush on his face.

"Yes."

"I think it heard you."

 _'Don't you worry Yamato.'_ Izuku sighed in relief after grilling for minutes about how to answer her. _'I'll become a man you can rely on. So tomorrow and the days after you can keep on smiling.'_

* * *

 **A.N.**

Congrats to lucifel35 for guessing correctly the two cameos from last chapter.

They were Sekigai Kashiko and Toga Himiko.

Lot's of people guess Nejire Hadou over Kashiko. Guess more people are up to date with the manga than they watched the OVA.

Also I changed the name of Yamato's school to Takodana. As to not clash with MHA canon.


	9. Juice Pouch

**Chapter 9**

 **Springtime**

Today was the day.

Today was his first day at U.A. the most prestigious school for heroics in the entire world. The Alma Mater of ALL Might and all top ranking heroes in Japan. And now, Izuku, after so much time dreaming about it, it was finally his turn.

The first day of his new life began today.

"Izuku!" His mother called for him as he was at the front door ready to leave for school.

"Yes, Mom?"

"You look so cool right now." She confessed with a bright proud look on her face. Any nervousness he may have had for today, they evaporated by his mother's encouragement.

His mother was always supportive of him, but she never vocally encouraged him to follow his dream as a hero. It had hurt but he understood why, she did it. He had been scrawny, shy, and a nervous wreck, not to mention Quirkless. To be like that and still dream of becomingg a hero had being nothing but a pipe dream at best, a delusion at worst.

But now, everything was different. He had met his idol All Might, and though at first he told him to give up, the Hero was the first to believe in him and his dream. The man chose him as his successor, trained him for ten whole months and even pass down his Quirk unto him.

He was no longer scrawny nor Quirkless.

Then came Yamato Rinko. She came into his life in the most atypical way possible. With him defending her from a molester on a train. Yet despite their incidental meeting, Izuku gave thanks to the gods above for blessing him with the opportunity. Not only was she the second person in the world to believe in him and his dream. She also saw beyond his obvious flaws and like him.

As in like-like him.

Now Yamato was his girlfriend. They have been a couple for one month and a half now, and they had been the best days in his life. And today they will be going to the same school together. Well, she would be in the Department of General Education, while he will be going to the Department of Heroes. But still! They would be going together.

This truly will be the Spring of his Life!

"Thank you, Mom!" Izuku smiled. "See you soon!"

(—)

"Izuku-kun!"

"R-Rinko-san!"

They both meet at the train station, so they both could ride the same train together. Even if it meant waking up and leaving home earlier, the fact they wouldn't miss to see each other in the morning was worth it.

"S-say, h-how do I look?" She asked somewhat shyly, showing off her new school uniform to him. Though they had been a couple for some time, they were still shy around each other. Although not as bad as they first started going on dates. Izuku could swear he might've broken a world record for longest time spent blushing.

"Y-You look Great!" He nodded vigorously. If anything, Yamato looked cute in everything she wore, and U.A.'s school uniform wasn't the exception. "H-how about me? How do I l-look?"

"You look so cool!"

"My mom said the same thing."

They continued talking with each other all the way from their station up to U.A.'s imposing main building.

"It seems we have to part ways…" Yamato said very disappointed seeing the signs that told students were their classroom were.

U.A. had four different departments: The Department of Heroes, The Department of General Education, The Department of Support and The Department of Management. And each had a different sector of the main building assigned to them. With the Hero department and the General department on opposite sides.

Meaning Yamato and Izuku would be very far apart from each other.

"Don't worry, being the first day we would only have to attend the Entrance Ceremony to meet the Principal and the Faculty, followed the Guidance Counselor Meeting." That was the norm for High schools. "So it is a half-day. Then we can meet so we can have lunch together."

"There is this nice bakery I've been hearing about so much." Yamato suggested sounding much more cheerful. "People say they have these cute decorated cupcakes!"

"S-Sure, that's sounds great!" Even since he started going on with Yamato, he had developed a sweet tooth. Still, he insisted that Yamato's hand-made treats were much better than those from any other store. "See you later, R-Rinko-san!"

"See you later, Izuku-kun!"

And with that, they both parted ways headed towards their respective classrooms.

(—)

Every year less than 1 in 300 examinees made it into the Hero Department. That year only 36 applicants had passed. So with 18 students for class A , that made for just two classes. And Izuku was among the chosen few.

 _'_ _If only Kacchan and that scary guy with the glasses end up in 1-B, I''l be eternally grateful…'_

"Don't put your legs on top of the desk!…"

"From which school you come from, you two-bit extra!?"

Unfortunately it seemed as luck wasn't on his side that morning. Honestly, things had being going so well with Yamato and his training this past month, it was past due for things to go south with Izuku.

And things went south even more when the scary guy with glasses noticed Izuku standing at the door.

"Good Morning, I am Tenya Iida from Soumei-!" He introduced himself to Izuku.

"I overheard." It would've been difficult NOT to, since Iida and Kacchan were pretty loud. "Uhh…I'm Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you, Iida-kun…"

"Midoriya-kun… I must hand it to you. You figured out the true nature of the Practical Exam, didn't you?" Iida began, confusing Izuku, who had no idea what he was talking about. "I was blind to it! And i completely misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you were the better man.!"

 _'_ _I had no idea also…'_ Still Izuku remained silent not wanting to upset the boy in front of him after he had made his mind and felt so strongly about the issue.

"AH! It's you!" A new voice said from behind Izuku, startling him. "The curly-hair kid! I'm glad I found you!"

 _'_ _It's the nice girl from the exam!'_ Izuku noticed after he look at her. Frankly, he had almost forgotten all about her. His mind being too focused on training and spending time with Yamato. Still he was grateful for her generosity when he saw the video of her offering some of her points to him in the video All Might sent him as his acceptance letter.

"Thank you so much for speaking in my behalf!" He bowed to her in sign of gratefulness and also for his slight shame of almost forgetting her. "It was very nice of you!" He finished with a very grateful smile, catching the girl off guard and making her blush a bit.

"I-It was nothing…" In another time and other life, the roles would've been reversed. With him blushing up a storm embarrassed, while she didn't took notice of the reaction. But in this life, Izuku was more accustomed talking with girls, and didn't see the girl with rosy cheeks as a very cute girl who was very nice to him, but just as a nice person who happened to be a girl. "Wait…! How do you know about that?"

"Huh?"This time it was Izuku who was caught of guard. "Actually I was told by a teacher in my Acceptance Video." The green head quickly added. Not the whole truth, but not a lie either. He didn't know if it was prudent to say that she was been recorded when she spoke with Present Mic about it.

Wait…! Who took that video again? Did they know she was gonna offer him points and recorded her without her knowledge? Or she just happened to be caught on camera and they were recording something else? Did U.A. record the students even outside the practical exam? and were they recording them now? With what purpose? What were they hopping to get? Was anywhere safe from the cameras? Did the bathrooms?

"Are you muttering…?" The girl looked at him puzzled.

"S-sorry, just an habit of mine!" He quickly apologized. He really should stop doing that, otherwise people would think less of him as when he was in middle school.

"Oh okay!" The girl just accept both explanations, without giving it a second thought. "I'm so excited for today, I wonder where will the Entrance Ceremony will be held? And the teachers! What would they be like!"

"If you are hunting for buddies do it somewhere else." Came a new voice. This time it came from a giant yellow caterpillar on the floor with the face on a man. "This is the Hero course." No, it wasn't a caterpillar, but a man zipped inside a yellow sleeping bag. Then he took out a juice pouch from inside the sleeping bag and proceeded to suck on it, drinking the juice obnoxiously loud.

Izuku, Iida and the girl stared in shock at the man. 'Just what is up with this guy?' was their shared thought.

"It took you lot 8-seconds to quiet down." The man said after he stood up and stepped out of the sleeping bag. "Life if short, kids. You're lacking in rational thought."

' _Is this the teacher?_ ' Izuku wondered. He must be a Hero, for him to be teaching at U.A., but for the life him Izuku couldn't recall any hero that looked like their teacher. ' _He looks washed-up_ …' Was he a retired hero, perhaps?

"I'm your Homeroom teacher Aizawa Shouta. Pleasure to meet you." The man finally introduced himself, without any sort of energy or interest.

"Now put on one of these and go meet me out onto the P.E. Grounds." He showed them a P.E. Uniform, and with no further instructions he left.

"So… I guess we should go to our locker rooms…?" Izuku offered. And since no one had a better idea, they followed his.

Suffice to say, this day wasn't going as he was expecting.

'Rinko-san… I hope things are going better for you.'

(—)

"Where's Izuku-kun…?" Yamato looked around from her spot desperately trying to catch a glimpse of her boyfriend, but no matter how much she tried she found nothing inside the hall she and the other students were standing for the Entrance Ceremony.

"Please all give a bow to the Principal of this Prestigious Academy, Principal Nedzu!" Announced none other than the Present Mic, with his usual overexcitement. "Give him a loud: AW! YEAH!"

"…" As usual, he was meet with silence.

"Yes! It is me, the guy you can't tell if he's a mouse, a dog or a bear! But you can tell that I am proud of being your Principal!"

"S-So cute…" Yamato couldn't help but think so. Seeing him with such a neat and shinny fur alongside his elegant suit and large shoes that reminded her of Izuku's.

"Now I wish to say a few words so we can start the school year with…" The principal then stopped mid-speech for a couple of seconds before asking away from the microphone. "Where's class 1-A?" He also took notice of a member of the faculty that was missing. "Where's Aizawa?"

"Principal Nedzu, it seems that Aizawa has taken his class for the Quirk Apprehension Test." Present Mic, informed the principal.

"This year as well?" The animal quirk user wondered, sounding not at all surprised by it. "Well, let's hope we don't end up with an entire class expelled again."

"Sir, the microphone's still on." The blond hero pointed out.

"Oops! Forget I said that." He waved off towards the hall filled with students.

Still, there was one student that worried.

Yamato Rinko brought her hands in front of her in sign of a prayer. "Izuku-kun please be okay."

(—)

"New rule: The student that ranks last in total points will be judged "Hopeless" and instantly expelled." Aizawa-sensei declared ominously, shocking everyone present at the P.E. Grounds. Bit Izuku worried most of all.

 _'What am I gonna do…!?'_ Never in his life would he had expected anything like this. Especially not on the first day of school. What started as a promising day, had suddenly turned into a huge ordeal.

* * *

 **A.N.**

Sorry, very short chapter this time. Think of it as necessary filler for next chapter that will have more original scenes.

Also, since people don't seem read my profile, I shall put its message here:

"As the name implies, this account serves as a place for short or unusual stories that serves as proof of concept for the type of stories I, and I hope others too, would like to read in good and capable hands.

If you like any of the concepts or ideas introduced in these stories, please feel free to use them and if you don't mind, link me to your stories too. Also I am open for any requests of adoptions for any of my stories if you are truly interested."


	10. Gummy Bears

**Chapter 10**

"Expelled!? This is our first day here!" The nice girl who had helped Izuku back during entrance exam cried out. "But even if it weren't, that's just too unreasonable!" and Izuku and the rest of the class also agreed with this.

"Natural disasters, massive accidents, Evil Villains…"their teacher began, looking at them as if their complaints made them nothing more than naive children. "All kinds of calamities can happen when we least expect them. Japan's now positively drenched in "unreasonable". If you were counting on a friendly stay at the local burger joint after school, that's too bad. From now on, for the next three years all of you can expect from your life at U.A. is one hardship after the next. This is the meaning of PLUS ULTRA. I expect you to overcome these trials and climb to the top."

A solemn silent fell upon the class after their teacher's speech. Still, the students showed their determination, ready to prove to the man that they were ready to face what was coming to them.

It was sink or swim for them, and they were already in the water.

 **[Trial 1: 50 Meter Dash]**

"3:04 seconds." Announced the robot in charge of timing them. The record belonged to Tenya Iida, who had raced again a girl that hopped like a frog.

Then the Nice Girl, whom Izuku still didn't know the name of, raced against a blond guy with a tail, crossing the line at 7:15 seconds. Next it was a girl with pink skin and horns racing with the blond guy who shoots lasers out of his navel. The more and more students raced, the more nervous Izuku got since he knew his turn was approaching.

' _I'm not sure if I'll be able to beat some of these times…_ ' No. He shouldn't be thinking like that! He had to stay positive! He needed to remember his training. His training would never fail him. He just needed to remember what he learned. What he knew.

(—)

 _Izuku breathed heavily. He had been running from one side of the beach to the other non-stop for the past hour. Lately he had been focusing on running more so than lifting weights, though he never neglect to do some repetitions at home with his equipment. Not only was running a great exercise that burn like crazy the calories he gained by eating Yamato's delicious sweet treats, it also help strengthen his bones. Something he really needed if he wanted to try and train with One For All._

 _"Izuku-kun!" A voice suddenly called out for him. He didn't need to turn his head to know who it was._

 _"R-Rinko…san…" He managed between breathes as he saw his girlfriend approach him. "Were we…supposed to meet today…?" He asked, still winded yet worried. "I'm…sorry… I totally forgot!"_

 _Yamato shook her head side to side. "We weren't." She reassured. "I was gonna meet with a friend but she called me earlier to cancel. So I decided to visit you, but you didn't answer your phone. So I call your home and your mom told me you were here."_

 _"I'm sorry Rinko-san…" he gave her a small short bow. "When I'm running I often don't hear my phone." Maybe he ought to get himself a new, better model."Did I make you wait much?" He looked inside his jacket to pull out a washcloth to wipe away his sweat, but Yamato beat him to it and offered him a small towel._

 _"No." Again she shook her head. "Besides I like seeing you run." It would've been better if he ran without a shirt, but she would never be able to tell him that and still be able to look him in the eye. "You looked so cool!"_

 _Izuku blushed hard at that. Thankfully his face was already red for running so much so he didn't turn away embarrassed. "I'm not really that fast…" At least not on the same level as those who run the relay team or in the track club at school. "Or that cool."_

 _"You're the coolest person I know, Izuku-kun." She cheered loudly, before realizing how close she was when she did so, causing her to step back feeling embarrassed. "Unlike you, I'm a slowpoke, so I admire people who can run really fast."_

 _Still flushed for the praise he was receiving, Izuku answered back. "A-And you are the cutest girl I've ever met." As soon as those words came out he closed his mouth shut. Crap! Was he too forward?! Was it too cliche of a line?! What would Yamato think of him now?! Damn those Shoujo Manga!_

 _While Izuku had his inner debate, Yamato just turn a dangerous shade of red, she was afraid she might pass out. Before she could give a proper response to that, Izuku spoke up._

 _"You said you were you slow at running, right?" Izuku said, wanting to change the subject and move away from what he just said. "Have you tried moving your legs super fast?" he asked lamely. He really wasn't thinking, instead he was hurrying to just say whatever._

 _"I move them super hard, with everything I have. But no matter how hard I try, I get left behind." Silently, Yamato thanked Izuku for the change of topic. Sure they were a couple, but saying stuff like that really made her hot all over so much she didn't know how to deal with it._

 _"Do you swing your arms fast, too?" Izuku offered a piece of advice that All Might had given him when correcting his running form._

 _"I've never thought of that." She answered after a few seconds considering Izuku's words._

 _"Want to try running?"_

 _"Sure! I have a feeling I'll be fast this time!"_

 _Izuku stood to the side, and watch Yamato try her best to run as fast as she could while following his advice. The result? Not too promising._

 _'Even though she moves her limbs fast enough. She really isn't moving forward…' It was surreal who she managed to move so fast and so little forward at the same time._

 _"I think I'm running a little faster than before…" Yamato explained after running what were twenty to thirty meters "At least for me."_

 _"That's great. I'm glad I could help." He laughed nervously, not wanting to hurt Yamato's feelings._

 _"But I'm much slower than you, Izuku-kun." She said looking down at her feet. "I'm jealous you're so fast. I wish I could run as fast as you."_

 _"If you want I could teach you!" Izuku quickly volunteered. "We have the mornings free now that we graduated Middle School. Maybe we could train in the mornings and I can teach you what I know._

 _"Really!? Would you do that for me?!" Rinko asked cheerfully, her amber eyes filled with hope and excitement. The prospect of spending time with Izuku and growing closer was too great a chance to let it pass._

 _"For you? Anything Rinko-san!" Really, he knew he could not deny her anything. If she were to ask him to jump he would ask 'how high?' Without a second thought._

 _As for Yamato, she was rendered speechless when her mind conjured up an image of what she could ask of him when he said the word "anything". How shameful of her! To imagine the two of them going to the Hanami together while holding hands, then having a picnic under a cherry blossom tree while admiring the beauty of the flowers together, and maybe even… k-k-kiss!_

 _"Rinko-san, are you alright…?"_

 _"I'M FINE! I'm totally fine!" She answered far too quickly, still Izuku didn't noticed anything strange about that. "Please take care of me." She gave him a bow as it was appropriate when being taken under the wing of someone._

 _'She's so cute.' Everyday, he gave thanks for having met her. "I'll do my best!" She may be slow on her feet, but he like her nonetheless._

(—)

Izuku took a deep breath in preparation as he took the runner's position. He could do this. He just needed to focus on his goal. To pass this trials and stay in U.A. , Not only because of his dream, but also for his Mother and Rinko who believe in him.

'Rinko-san…' She had been so happy when they to of them came together to school. He wanted to keep on seeing her like that. To see her smile and happy every morning, every day. If he failed now, he would have to say good bye to those moments… to say goodbye to Yamato's smile.

When the sound of a pistol shot rung, Izuku shot out from the starting blocks and ran as fast as he could. His mind focusing in one thing: An egg inside a microwave.

' _Lower the wattage, set the time shorter, don't let the egg burst!_ ' Izuku focused on his mental image as he called upon One For All. As he had practiced all of his Spring Break.

"6:10 seconds." the robot timing them said as Izuku crossed the 50 meter line. He did it! He had gone from 7:02 —since he last timed himself — to 6:10, thanks to One For All.

' _Yamato. I promise to you I will not fail!_ ' All of the training they had done together wouldn't be in vein. He had worked hard this past month. He broke his arms and legs so many times to get where he currently was.

Able to use 1% of One For All.

(—)

 _"Are you sure you are comfortable with this, Rinko-san?" Iuzku asked concerned. "I remember what you said about how you don't like to use your Quirk…"_

 _"I don't hate using it…" Rinko shook her head side to side softly. "I disliked that people care more about my Quirk and me as a person…" It had been hard realizing that at a young age. "And that they pretended to be my friends for my Healing Tears…"_

 _"But what I am asking…!"_

 _"It's different!" She interrupted him, not wanting him to believe he was the same as those people. "You cared about me before even knowing what my Quirk was. And when you found out, you thought about how great a Hero I could be for others. Never thinking about yourself." It was one of the things she most admired him for: That noble and selfless soul of his. "Your Quirk hurts you, and if you don't train to control it you'll get hurt even worse." The memory of the skin of his arm turning reddish brown in inflammation after breaking his bones, made her queazy. "I much prefer see you train and heal you so that you no longer get hurt." Than for him to not train, get hurt and she not being around to do something about it._

 _"Rinko-san…" Izuku's eyes watered, moved by her words and support. "Thank you very much…"_

 _"Let's do our best, Izuku-kun!" She cheered for him. "I'm sure you'll get this down in no time!"_

 _"I promise you! I won't give up!"_

 **[Trial 2: Grip Strength]**

Izuku concentrated in his mental image, the one All Might called "low-key but definitely unique". It took him two weeks of intense training to be able to safely summon just 1% of One For All's power. He still needed to concentrate, but it was definitely an improvement over what he was before.

 ***Beep***

Izuku looked down at the Hand Dynamometer and saw his result: 64.7kg. Last time he measure, back in Middle School, he got a 40kg result, which according to his teachers, it was poor result. So definitely improved. But would it be enough to keep him away from last place?

"540 kilos!" Shouted a boy to the side, making Izuku turned towards another tall boy with multiple arms. "What are you, a gorilla!?" The boy who shouted in surprised asked in utter amazement. "No, you are more of an octopus." Because of the multiple arms and all that.

Izuku sighed. He was definitely not going to get the first place in this one either.

(—)

 _"Izuku-kun, what are these called?" Yamato asked as she picked up a device that consisted of a torsion steel spring and two handles._

 _"Ah! These are grippers."The boy explained. "These are for testing and training the strength of one's grip." He often trained with them during classes unbeknownst to his teachers._

 _"Why?" She asked puzzled._

 _"To become stronger, of course!" Why else would they be used for?_

 _"No, I mean… why is it important?" She specified. "How does a stronger grip help and why it matters?"_

 _"It is important because…um…it helps with…" the boy then trailed off into silence. Now that he thought about it, what use did superior crushing grip had anyways, beside crushing things in your hands? It's not like it would help him punch better, or help him cling from stuff. Handling suspects, hoisting ladders, climbing ropes, were examples where he would use grip. But in each example, grip strength was not the most important factor for their success or performance. In the end, he had no idea._

 _"Um… to squeeze the juice of an orange better…?"_

 **[Trial 5: Soft Ball Pitch]**

Izuku started to sweat, not because of tiredness or because it was a hot day, but for his increasing nervousness. He hadn't done well in both the Standing Long Jump and the Sustained Sideways Jump trials.

They were in the fifth trial already and the others had gotten at least one score where they came up high. While Izuku remained in the lower tiers. He may not be currently in last place, but he wasn't willing to bet against some of the people lower than him pulling an upset in the three trials to follow.

He was far from safe. And the only way to get out of the danger zone was to get an impressive score.

"Infinity!? Holy cow! She got an Infinity Symbol!" The one who got such an outrageous score was none other than the nice girl who helped him. She too was on the lower tier alongside him. But with this score she went from below him to several spots above him.

' _This isn't good!_ ' After this trial there was the Endurance Run, The Toe Touch/Flexibility and the Upper Body Exercise trials. None of which Izuku could somehow manage to pull a top score. If he wanted one the Soft Ball Pitch was his only option. 'At this rate I might become the dead last…' So the time to use One For All at 100% was now or never!

Izuku picked up a soft-ball —since the one thrown by the girl who got infinite was never coming back — and walked towards he appointed circle where he could do anything —without stepping out— to throw the ball.

"You looks so cool right now." Mom…

"You can become a Hero!" All Might…

""You are my Hero." Yamato…

'I PROMISE I WILL BECOME A GREAT HERO!' Focusing all the power on One For All, Izuku finally threw the ball.

"48 Meters." Called out the robot, measuring their distances.

"B-But I-I…!?" He couldn't believe it! What just happened?! He was sure he used it! He felt it! So why?! Why nothing…?!

"I erased your Quirk." Aizawa suddenly declared with his eyed turned red and his hair flowing menacingly. "It defies reason that somebody like you managed to enter this academy."

Izuku turned his face from shocked horror to one of sudden realization. "You erased…? and those googles…! My god! The Erasing Hero: Eraserhead!" The underground hero who avoids the media and can cancel out the Quirks of whomever he's looking at.

He couldn't believe that Eraserhead was their homeroom teacher.

"From what I have observed, I must admit you have improved. You no longer cripple yourself when you use your power." The underground hero regarded rather flatly, and the green haired boy knew that these were all the nice things his teacher would say about him. "But you still require much time to concentrate to even use it, and when you do, your improvement is marginal at best." Izuku felt himself shrink under his teacher's intense gaze. "Do you believe real life would allow you to stand around and wait for you to concentrate until you are ready?" Aizawa then used his scarf to as bindings that wrap around Izuku and pulled him towards him. "Try as you may, you won't have that privilege. And if you use your Quirk haphazardly you'll only cripple yourself, and you'll be in no position to help or do anything." Even though wanting to protest, Izuku knew the man was right. "There's a insufferable Hero who made a name for himself by rescuing a thousand innocents from disaster by himself." Despite the pretenses, it was obvious Aizawa was talking about All Might, Izuku's idol. "You have his brute strength, but as you are right now, you'll end up as a burden for others. Face it, your "power" won't help you become a Hero, Midoriya Izuku."

After finally giving his two cents, Aizawa finally deactivated his Quirk and let the bow go from his scarf. "I gave you back your Quirk. Try and pitch the ball a second time and do it quickly."

Izuku understood what the last part not only meant for him to get it over with so others may have a turn, his teacher meant that he won't allow him to waste time concentrating until he was sure he could throw the ball. Though callous, Izuku understood perfectly the point his teacher was trying to make. If he were a Hero on the field and he used One For All carelessly it would leave him incapacitated, and if he took the necessary time to concentrate he would be a sitting duck for villains or would act too late to be of any help.

 _'What should I do…?'_

' _He's persistent. He is not backing down…_ ' Aizawa thought as he put some eyedrops on his eyes to deal with his unfortunate case of Dry Eye. ' _Will he cripple himself or he will gamble and settle for a low score?_ ' No matter which the boy chooses, he was still hopeless.

Izuku couldn't waste the time adjusting the power output. Could he stake his chances at using something more than 1% and hope to not injure himself? No, he couldn't. It took him weeks to get so far. And he wouldn't be here if it weren't for all the help Yamato lent him.

' _Yamato…_ ' Please, let him the strength to do it!

Izuku wind back his arm and was ready to unleash the full power of One For All. Except this time…

Aizawa frowned disappointed but not surprised at all. "Hopele -"

 **"SMASH!"**

The ball almost disappeared in the distance.

 ***Beep***

705.3 meters.

 _'He didn't just pitched at full power, he focused his power into the tip of the finger…!'_ The boy managed to Maximize the power while Minimizing the recoil damage.

"SENSEI….!" Izuku shouted, his eyes tearing a bit from the pain in his now busted finger, but still he showed incredible determination. "I-I can still move!"

"This kid…!" Aizawa didn't know if to feel impressed or annoyed that this brat showed him off. So he settled for a weird mix of the two.

Watching from afar, hidden from everyone, All Might was just as surprised as Aizawa after witnessing such a spectacular feat. ' _That was superb Midoriya, my boy!_ ' To come up with such a simple yet genius solution while his was caught between a rock and a hard place, it spoke volumes of his pupil ingenuity. _'You look so cool right now._ '

Still it wasn't all fine and dandy, because soon after Izuku's feat worthy of a hero, a shout and an explosion were heard.

"DEKU! EXPLAIN NOW, YOU SH*TRAG!"

It was none other than Bakugo! Demanding answers and blood with those deranged eyes of his. Thankfully, Aizawa was there to stop the ashy blond with his 'Capturing Weapon' made out of a Steel alloy woven with microfibers and using his Erasure Quirk to stop the boy's explosion Quirk.

After a stern warning, Bakugo did fall back, but his intense glare didn't diminish. He would get answers one way or another.

 **[Trials End]**

Soon after the remaining trials came and went, and unfortunately for Izuku, the pain in his finger was enough of a distraction that caused him to lag behind. Despite his training with Yamato to be able to access 1% of One For All, where he had broke his bones several times, he had Yamato and her Healing Tears at the ready to heal him up. Because of this, he learned to not be hesitant of the pain that his Quirk caused, but he never really accustomed himself to feel the pain for long periods of time.

And so, when the time came to show up the results, Izuku was zoning out Aizawa's voice, feeling anxious since he had no idea if he was able to escape the dreaded last place or not. If he were to be expelled, not only would he had failed himself, but he would've also failed All Might and Yamato too.

' _After all the support the gave me, If I get expelled…_ ' Izuku couldn't bare to finish that thought, it was to painful toe ven imagine it. ' _Rinko…I'm so s-_ '

"Oh yeah, the whole expulsion thing was a lie." Aizawa informed nonchalantly, much to the shock of most students. "It was a logical ruse to pull out your best performances." That was the teacher's explanation of why he put them through such a difficult experience.

"Come on use your brains a little, of course it was a ruse." A girl with black hair styled in a spiky ponytail said out-loud not the least fazed by the reveal. The rest of the students remained quiet, since they too hadn't realized the ruse.

"Now that this's over," Aizawa recalled everyone's attention back to him. "Your curriculum sheets are back in the classroom, so give them a once over." He said sounding bored of the more regular aspects of being a teacher, then again when has he looked not bored or everyone and everything around him? "And Midoriya…" He called, startling the green haired boy, "Go to Recovery Girl and get yourself patched up." He then handed the boy a note.

And with that he walked away, leaving the class dumbfounded by his questionable teaching methods.

 _'I feel really lost right now…_ ' And who could blame Izuku, after such a rollercoaster of emotions he experienced these last couple of hours. 'I'm glad we were all spared, but, there is still much to do…' especially since Izuku had ranked…

Wait…

"What place did I ended up as…?" He wondered, he really hadn't paid any attention to Aizawa when he had shown the rankings. Well, it doesn't matter anyways, so he would assume he got last place. That way he could motivate himself to do better and not get hurt next time. Speaking of which… "I better go get my finger fixed…"

As he walked towards where he remembered the Nurse's office was, he didn't notice one of his classmates, the shortest one in the class by far, on all fours looking at the floor, silently crying to himself: "I didn't get expelled!"

(—)

 **Nurse's Office**

After arriving, Izuku was greeted by the famous Recovery Girl. As expected of the Number One School for Heroics to have a famous hero and a decorated doctor employed to help cure the students. After he presented the note Aizawa gave him The Youthful Heroine, after a short examination, proceeded to give him a smooch on his broken finger, which shortly healed his finger.

"That's amazing!" Despite having been healed by Yamato several times already, he couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous rate at which his injuries healed. "But... I suddenly… feel… so tired…" He noticed as he felt like his stamina was slowly draining away.

"All my Quirk does is magnify your body's own regenerative process." The old woman proceeded to explain as she bandaged his finger just as a precaution. "In order to heal, you need to use up some of your strength. If you keep getting injured and use up too much energy to regenerate, you'll end up dying anyway, so be careful." She said as calmly as posible, but there was no denying that there was an underlying stern warning under those words.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Izuku nodded feeling solemn at her words. It was another reminder that he needed to improve the handling of his newly acquired Quirk.

"Here have some Gummy Bears." She offered the boy after seeing how serious his face got. "There's no need to beat yourself over it, just try to be more careful next time."

"Yes." Izuku said with a small smile, accepting some of the Gummy Bears and every even placing one inside his mouth. "Thank you very much."

"If that is all, and you're feeling better then I guess I can let you-" Just as she was giving him the clear to go back to his class, they were interrupted by a sudden opening of the office door.

"IZUKU-KUN!"

"Y-Yamato-San!" So startled was he by her sudden appearance that the boy regressed to calling her by her family name! "How did you-"

"I was worried and went looking for you! But when I asked, a scruffy man in pijamas told me you were here!" She explained, answering his question before he could even finish it.

' _Scruffy man in pijamas…?_ _Does she mean Aizawa-Sensei?_ ' Before he could decide if he found Yamato's description of his homeroom teacher funny or not, his girlfriend closed the distance between them still wearing a worried expression on her face.

"Are you hurt? Here let me heal you!" She offered, and was ready make herself cry, when Izuku finally spoke up.

"There's no need…" But his words fell in deaf ears as she continued to fuzz over him, especially after seeing his bandaged finger.

After watching the scene play out for a couple of seconds more Recovery Girl finally spoke. "He is completely fine. Or do you doubt my ability to heal him?"

Coming to an absolute stop, Yamato finally turned to acknowledge the older woman inside the office. "Sorry, I didn't mean to depreciate your skills, Recovery Girl." She gave her the upmost respectful and apologetic bow she could muster.

"Now, now, there is no need to be so formal with me, Rinko-chan." She waved off, making Izuku quite curious at the familiarity to which the Heroine addressed Yamato.

Did these two knew each other beforehand?

Before Izuku could even ask, he received an answer when Yamato finally said. "Okay, Granny."

"G-Granny…?"

"Oh! I totally forgot!" She Yamato turned back to him with a slight embarrassed look. "Izuku-kun, this is my Granny, Chiyo Obaa-chan!" She said before turning back to look at the Elder woman. "Granny, this is my boyfriend, Izuku-kun!"

"Ho Ho, so this is the Young man you've been telling me so much about!" Chiyo said with a small laugh making Yamato turned slightly red.

"Granny!"

"I'm just teasing."

While the women laughed, Izuku just sat there with a befuddled look on his face. With just one word reverberating over and over again inside his mind: Granny.

Yamato just called Recovery Girl her granny.

"WHAT!?"

(—)

After his little outburst, both Yamato and Recovery Girl explained to Izuku the nature of their relationship. Though his girlfriend called the older woman Granny, Chiyo was the sister of Yamato's grandmother, who had unfortunately passed away before Yamato was even born, making Recovery Girl Yamato's Grand Aunt.

"But I just call her Granny." Yamato finished her explanation with a big smile on her face.

"I see…" Izuku nodded, finally understanding the whole situation. "That's why your Quirks are so similar." Recovery/Healing Quirks must run very deep in their family. "Although, Recovery Girl's Quirk uses the stamina of the patient while Yamato-san´s uses her own." Izuku continued saying, talking mostly to himself at this point. Both were incredible and useful in their own right. While Recovery was limited by the patient's stamina and could put them in danger of dying, it had the advantage of being able to be used multiple times in a row, unlike Healing Tears that were dependent of Yamato's own stamina, meaning that it could be used much less but it had the added bonus of not putting the patient's life at risk. But if paired together, they would become and incredible combination, just imagine how many lives they could save and…

"Izuku-kun, you're mumbling again…" Yamato said, snapping her boyfriend back to the present. Although she liked her boyfriend very, very much, she couldn't help but feel unsettled when he got in that trance-like state.

"Oh! Sorry…" He rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. He really should stop himself from going on like that every time a Quirk caught his attention. Deciding to quickly change topics, Izuku asked. "Say, how did your morning go?"

"Everyone attended the Entrance Ceremony to meet the Principal and the Faculty…" Yamato then began telling him how worried she got when she couldn't find him among the crowd of students, and when Principal Nedzu - who she noticed wore shoes very similar to Izuku's by the way- let it slip that a whole class could end up expelled, she feared for his well-being even more.

"Wait! Aizawa-sensei has expelled whole classes in the first day before!?" So it wasn't a logical ruse after all? The whole class could have ended up expelled instead of just the student that placed last in the Quirk Apprehension Test.

"Yes, he is infamous amongst the faculty because of that." And for a variety of other reasons, Chiyo wasn't going to mention. "I still can't comprehend why the Principal would allow Aizawa to get rid of an entire class, but I trust Nedzu's criteria."

"I was so worried I could barely pay attention when we were brought back to our classroom and the teacher explain the curriculum." Yamato confessed with a tired sigh, "And when class was finally let out, I ran all the way to Class A to see how you were." That's when she met with the scruffy man wearing black pijamas who told her Izuku was at the nurse's office.

"Sorry, I made you worry…" Izuku apologize with a remorseful look on his face. "I promise it won't happen again!" He then change from remorseful to a face of honest determination, that secretly Yamato found to look very cool. Still she gushed about him, telling him that he shouldn't apologize for that, and that she ought to apologize for worrying so much.

While this was happening, Chiyo just remained silent as he stared at the boy that held her grandniece's affections. ' _You shouldn't promise the impossible._ ' Though she would never doubt her grandniece's opinion about how Midoriya Izuku was the nice, kind and respectful young man, the fact that he chose to become a hero meant that he would always make Rinko worry, it was one of the inevitable drawbacks of this profession. ' _Worse yet…_ ' Midoriya Izuku wasn't your regular aspiring hero-to-be. He was chosen by All Might to be the bearer of his Quirk, and that meant that the responsibilities and burdens of the Symbol of Peace would fall on the Young boy's shoulders sooner rather than later, and that would not only affect him but also all of the people around him.

Including Grandniece Rinko.

"Well Young man…" Chiyo finally spoke up earning her the attention from both teens. "As I was saying before Rinko-chan here busted into my office…" said girl just flushed red after being reminded of her previous actions. "You are free to go now."

"Oh! Thank you very much for everything. It was a pleasure to meet you, Recovery Girl." Izuku gave her a respectful bow in appreciation for healing his finger.

"My, my, Rinko-chan didn't undersell you when she told me how respectful you were." She said with a little laugh. "By the way, Rinko would you mind staying here with me, there is something we need to talk about." Before she could give her grandniece time to respond, she look back at Izuku directly into the eye. "I'm sorry, Young man. But this might take a while. It would be better if you return back home."

Having no room for argument, fearing he might upset the Elder woman, Izuku conceded without much doubt. "It's fine." He then turned towards his girlfriend. "Rinko-san, I'll see you later." He gave her a reassuring smile, masking his disappointment. "We can still meet later to try those cupcakes."

"Sure…" She agreed with a small nod. Unlike him, the disillusion was plain to see. "I'll see you soon Izuku-kun."

"I'll see you soon, Rinko-san." And with a final bow, towards Yamato and Recovery Girl. The now healthy Izuku, stepped out of the Nurse's office.

(—)

After changing back into his uniform, and picking up his backpack, Izuku was ready to go back home to change into nicer clothes for when he would meet Yamato later that day. Despite his enthusiasm, there was a little something something that was trying to deter him.

"I'm so tired…" He hadn't noticed before, but Recovery Girl's Quirk really drained a lot of his stamina. Though he was very grateful that the Heroine had healed him, he much preferred Yamato's Quirk. ' _Still, I can't believe they are related!_ ' That had been quite the shock, to find out that his girlfriend was related to such a famous Hero. Then again, depending on the hero, information about their private life could be scarce; just look at All Might and EraserHead.

What still astounded him the most was that he never saw it coming, because there was hardly any resemblance between the two. Although…

"Both are really short…" He was a head taller than Yamato, and he wasn't exactly above average.

"Is your finger healed?" Said a voice at the same time he felt something fall on top of his shoulder, startling Izuku enough to make him cry in surprise.

"Oh hey, Iida-kun!" The green head said once he realized who the voice belonged to. "And yes, Recovery Girl made sure to heal me." He then told the spectacled boy about what the Heroine did and say, skipping over the events after Yamato came in running. After that, the two boys continued talking, mostly about the Test they just went through.

"I have to say, Aizawa-sensei really got me!" Iida confessed, not really looking at Izuku but to the ground in front of him, one hand resting on his chin as he still pondered about the events from earlier. "I'd actually thought ' _So this is what the Highest Academia is like!_ ' Now I see how a teacher can encourage through deception…"

As Iida rambled on, Izuku relaxed a bit around the boy he had found so intimidating beforehand. _'He might seem scary at first, but in reality his just an earnest guy.'_

Suddenly Izuku's thoughts were interrupted when another voice called out for the two of them.

"Hey there, you two!" It was the nice girl! "You headed towards the station? Wait for me!" She approached them in a hurried pace.

"You're that ' _Infinity_ ' Girl." Iida said, remembering her by her impressive feat at the Soft Ball Pitch Trial.

' _Infinity Girl, Huh?_ ' To Izuku that sounded like a very cool Hero name. And a very appropriate one after such an incredible display.

"Hi, I'm Uraraka Ochako!" She introduced herself, and Izuku finally had a name to call her instead of referring to her as ' _The Nice Girl_ '. "You are, Uhh, Tenya Iida right?" After the spectacled boy nodded in confirmation, she turned to Izuku, "And if I'm not mistaken you are Midoriya… Deku."

"Deku!?" Izuku repeated somewhat agape. The only person to call him that demeaning name was…

"Wasn't that what that Bakugo kid called you?" She asked confused. She could still recall how that ashy blond boy called him.

"Um, actually my name is Izuku…" he corrected while scratching the back of his head slightly embarrassed since he would have to explain the meaning behind Deku. "Deku is just what Kacchan calls me to insult me…" although after so many years, he was no longer bothered by it. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "It means good for nothing…"

"Oh, so it is an insult." Iida thought it was just an nickname between people that known each other for long, never would've he thought to be an insult. Good thing to know, so that he would never called his new acquaintance by such aa demeaning name.

"Ehhh! For real!?" Uraraka exclaimed before quickly saying sorry for her faux pas. "But you know, I kinda like the name Deku for you!" She said without an ounce of guile. "It gives a sorta 'Never Give Up' Vibe, you know?"

"Never give up…" Izuku stopped for a few seconds, and thought it over. "You know, I like the sound of that." He finally said with a small smile. "If you really mean it, you can call me that." He was already accustomed to people calling him Deku, so what was another person? Besides, it would be nice to associate that demanding name into something positive.

"Are you sure about that, Midoriya-kun?!" Iida asked appalled by his sudden acceptance of being called a demeaning name.

"I'm sure." Deku confirmed with a nod. "Doesn't bother me at all."

"If you say so." The blue head say still not that convinced, yet he let it go for now.

Izuku just laughed. This day didn't go as he had expected. But he was ecstatic none the less. He had survived his first day at U.A. and for the first time in many years he felt like he was making friends.

' _And later today, I'll be meeting with Rinko-san._ ' Today was definitely a good day.

 **[Earlier, back at the Nurse Office]**

After a whole minute of silence had passed after Izuku left, waiting to make sure the boy wouldn't come back in unexpectedly. Chiyo finally spoke. "I'm sorry I had to keep you from him, but I really need to speak with you about something, Rinko-chan." She said with a dejected sigh. She really wasn't looking forward to this.

"What is it, Granny?" Yamato asked somewhat worried, noticing the sudden change of mood inside the office.

"I think you should break-up your relationship with Midoriya Izuku."

* * *

 **A.N.**

Sorry for the long absence but real life got in the way.

I won't bore you with the details, but there is one significant thing I've been doing that has kept me from writing, and that is that I am volunteering to help teach kids, some with learning difficulties, how to play chess. It has been hard work but it is very gratifying.

I know it is no excuse to leave you guys hanging, but hey, I'm back in business.


	11. Cafeteria Lunch

**Chapter 11**

It was the second day of school at U.A. and Izuku had trouble concentrating during morning classes, which included English with Present Mic. It wasn't because it was boring, far from it since Present Mic was very "enthusiastic" during the lessons, it was because his mind went back to the day before when he had met Yamato after classes.

(—)

After arriving home and changing clothes, he meet up with Yamato at the store they both agreed to, and they both tried those decorated cupcakes the store was famous for. Though they looked and tasted nice, Izuku still though Yamato's cupcakes tasted way better. After that, they both went around the stores window shopping, Izuku made sure to remember all the stuff Yamato found fascinating or cute so he could maybe buy some of them for her at a later date, like her birthday, or Christmas, or their anniversary.

That last one, made Izuku blush. Was it too soon of him to be thinking about stuff like that? They were only going out for a little bit more than month so far. Yet when he looked at Yamato, he could see himself being together with her for a long time.

After a while before they decided to go back home for the day, Yamato asked if they could rest for a while. They settled for a nice bench near a children playground. While they were some kids playing around, they thankfully left the two teens alone, so they could enjoy there remaining time together before heading home.

As they talked, Izuku noticed how quiet Yamato was becoming, giving him shorter and shorter answers every time while her eyes turn downcast . It was weird to him to see Yamato act low-spirited, specially since she had been fine before. Then again he was not good at reading people, so much that she could've been acting strange beforehand and he hadn't noticed until now.

How bad of a boyfriend was he?

"Are you feeling fine, Rinko-san?" He asked softly, hoping she would tell it to him straight so he knew how he could help her. "You seem a bit… distracted."

"It's…nothing…" She said adverting her eyes to not look at him. He might be clueless but he would have to be blind and deaf to not have noticed there really was something bothering her. Even so, he had no idea what to say.

"W-Well… just know that I am here for you…" That was the appropriate thing to say, right? He really hoped so. Then in a sudden bold move, he took Yamato's hand into his. "Remember, you don't have to hold back with me." Reminded her of what they promised themselves a while back.

Yamato's breath hitched for a second, before she recovered and squeezed his hand back. "I know…" They remained seated holding hands in silent for a whole minute for Yamato to be ready to talk about while Izuku remained respectfully patient, until she finally spoke up. "Izuku-kun… have you thought about the future?"

"The future…?" He repeated puzzled, not expecting that question.

"How do you see yourself in the future…?" She turned to look at him, her eyes almost pleading. For what he had no idea, just like his answer.

The future? He really hadn't thought about it to much. He had been to happy with being at U.A. and having Yamato at his side that he neglected to plan for the future at all. If anything he saw himself graduating from U.A., working as a Hero in an Agency, preferably the same one All Might also worked at. That was as far as he thought about his future career. But on the personal side? How did he see himself?

Izuku took a deep breath and remain silent in contemplation. No matter how many times he thought it over, there was only very few things that remain constant.

"I don't know…" He finally answered after his own minute of silence.

"Y-You d-don't know…?" Yamato said sadly. "Of c-course, you wouldn't know since I just asked out of the sudden and -" She was about to take her hand away only for Izuku to hold her hand tighter.

"I don't know because the future is uncertain." Izuku interrupted and looked her directly in the eye. "I don't know what the future may bring." If someone would've told him ten months ago he would've met such an amazing girl like Yamato and that she would be his girlfriend, Izuku would've label them as crazy, yet here they were. "I don't know if things will remain like today, or if I would do something stupid to make you hate me…"

"Izuku-kun, you would never-"

"We can't know. And for all I know, the world could end tomorrow." Izuku added gloomily. "But what I do know is about the now, and right now I am happy."

"H-Happy…?"

"Yes, happy." He asserted with a nod. "Happy that I am here, with you. That everyday I can get to see you smile and get to know you more and more…" Izuku didn't know if what he was saying was lame or smooth, all that he was sure was that he was talking from his heart. "The future might seem scary, but living the here and now, I feel, it's beautiful. Specially since you are here to share it with me."

"I-Izu…ku…" at this point, Yamato could not bare it anymore and she started crying, burying herself into his shoulder. He just placed his arms around her and tried to comfort her the best way he could. He didn't care for the looks they earned because of her crying, his girlfriend was crying and he would do his best to help her.

Yamato cried for around 5 minutes, before she finally calmed enough to leave his embrace. "S-Sorry… for this… you might think me weird…"

"Hardly… especially since you know how I get myself." He tried to liven the mood with a small joke at his propensity to turn on the waterworks. "Just wait to you see more of my mom, she might beat us both." When he heard his girlfriend stifle a giggle, he knew he'd done good. "Are you feeling better?" He dare to ask, hoping it wouldn't trigger her to cry again.

Thankfully that wasn't the case. "N-No… I'm better…" she answered while whipping her face dry with her sleeves.

' _Better, but not fine._ ' Izuku thought before he pressed further. "Does this have to do with what Recovery Girl had to talk you about?" He knew he hit the nail on head when he saw her eyes hidden in surprise and her whole body stiffen.

"I…I…" She wanted to tell him about it, but it was just so difficult.

"If it is a private family matter, you don't have to tall me." Izuku quickly said, seeing the strain in his girlfriend face. "I won't pry. But whatever it is, just know that I am here and I will do whatever it takes to help you, no matter what the future is." He said with all the determination he could muster.

Yamato looked like she would start crying again, but with all of her might she reign in her emotions. "C-Could we stay a bit longer…" The then rested her head on his shoulder while she took his and into hers once more. "like this?"

"As long as you want…"

After what felt like hours, Yamato insisted on going home alone. He tried to persuade her otherwise, but she was stubborn about it. Though unhappy about it, he relented.

Once they both at their respective homes, they texted, and Yamato insisted that she was much better. Izuku wasn't convinced but he let it go, thinking that tomorrow they could talk about it.

(—)

But now that it was tomorrow, things remain uncertain. Izuku couldn't find Yamato at the station, nor he saw her on the way from the station towards school. He tried to text her, but he only received short replies that everything was fine.

' _Then why they aren't any colorful emoji on her texts?_ ' Oh there were emoji, don't get him wrong. But after texting with Yamato for more than a month he was more than familiar with how she decorated and spiced her texts to him. It was like she never used the same emoji twice.

Even though she insisted she was fine, he just worried more and more.

Before Izuku knew it, it was noon already. It was time for Lunch. He had been looking forward with having his first lunch with Yamato at U.A., but how things were going, he wasn't optimistic.

Not even meeting the Lunch Hero: Lunch Rush lifted his spirits, since he knew that Yamato should've been by his side asking him question after question about heroics or cooking. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, so here he was at the Grand Mess Hall, where one could buy gourmet food for reasonable prices, with a bowl of rice with mild curry, feeling completely alone.

"Deku-kun! Come sit with us!" A familiar feminine voice out for him. It wasn't Yamato, like he hoped, but Uraraka who was seating next to Iida.

"Uraraka-san! Iida-kun!"

"Wait a second, Uraraka-kun, you shouldn't refer to Midoriya-kun like that! Remember that it was an insult."

"Come on Iida-kun, you know that's not the case anymore!"

"But still!"

Izuku couldn't help but laugh a bit. Maybe hanging out with Uraraka and Iida would cheer him up a bit. It would do him good to spend some time with some friends.

(—)

Yamato felt terrible. Had she not cried herself to sleep last night, she was sure she wouldn't sleep a wink. The whole conversation with her Granny and the one she had with Izuku afterwards weighted on her mind, she had trouble concentrating on class. Thankfully she wasn't called by any of her teachers before they were finally let out for lunch.

 _"I think you should break-up your relationship with Midoriya Izuku."_ Those words were still hunting her. She couldn't believe her Granny could say something so terrible to her. Though she knew her granny was only trying to look after her, it didn't help to have heard such blunt words.

Izuku… she cared so much for him. He was so nice, and attentive towards her. He was such a gentlemen and went the extra mile for her. He saved her in many occasions despite risk towards his person and he always kept his word. Honestly he was too good of a person for someone so plain and boring like her. She count herself blessed that someone so brave and courteous could be with her.

There was no doubt in her mind that he could achieve anything he set his mind into. That he could achieve his dream of becoming a Great Hero, even though she thought he was already one.

" _The life of a Hero is filled with risks and peril, not only for them but the people around them too_." No matter how much she could try to deny it, she know this to be true. Hero's risked their lives for the sake of the people and they couldn't prioritize the life of their loved ones over the rest. That was one of the many codes a Hero lived by.

A code that Izuku would live by.

" _Could you see yourself living like that? Living everyday knowing that you could be targeted just to get back at them or that after watching them go, you risk never seeing them again?_ "

She wanted to say yes. That she could live knowing that Izuku could get hurt every time he went out to be a Hero.

" _That's the kind of life you will get into if you get romantically involved with a Hero._ "

But then she would picture the worst case scenario. That one day, Izuku may not come back. The thought alone sent ache to her heart.

Could she live her life with that worry on her heart every single day?

" _I don't say this to be mean, but I've seen you grow since you were born. And I know a life like that might be a little to much for your frail heart._ "

Frail…

She had always being frail. She had always known this to be true. Even her Quirk told it so, since she could do to help was to cry. Though useful for its healing properties, it did nothing to help defend herself. She would always depend on others to to look after her. Others like Izuku. That wonderful boy who always worried about her. Could it be that she might become a nuisance? A constant source of worry for Izuku that would only drag him down as time passes?

" _The future is uncertain._ " " _I don't know if things will remain like today, or if I would do something stupid to make you hate me…_ "

She could never hate him… He was so kind and noble, not to mention determined and strong. Very much unlike her frail self…

Could he grow to resent her, because of her constant worrying? For having to always tend to her frail nature?

 _"But what I do know is about now, and right now I am happy." "Happy that I am here right now with you. That everyday I can get to see you smile and get to know you more and more…"_

Izuku. He truly was too good for this world. Too good for her.

" _The future might seem scary, but living the here and now, I feel, it's beautiful. Specially since you are here to share it with me._ "

And she wanted to share the present with him too. To share it despite what scary things the future may bring. She wanted it so much she would fight for it too, if necessary.

But could she? Wanting to fight for something didn't equate to be able to do so. She was frail after all. Someone like that would be unfit to stand next to someone so wonderful as Izuku.

Maybe she should consider her Granny's words and…

"Hey! Yamato-san!" A voice suddenly snapped her back to the present. Yamato looked around the Mess Hall to find the source of that voice. Her gaze finally settled on a table with several girls. Thankfully she managed to recognize them as members of her class, yet their names escaped her memory. Maybe she should've paid attention when the teachers took attendance.

"Wanna sit here with us?" A girl with black hair styled in a bun waved at her.

Yamato approached them, knowing she had no other plans to seat anywhere else and not wanting to appeared rude she accepted the offer. "Thank you…" She said once she took her seat.

"Sup? I'm Iori. Nice meetin'cha!" The black haired girl introduced herself, and Yamato finally noticed her Kansai accent.

"Nice to meet you too, Iori-san." Yamato gave a small head bow.

"No need ta be so formal!" Iori waved off with a laugh. "Ya can drop the honorific with me."

"Then please call me Rinko, Iori-chan." She said looking at Iori and the rest of the girls.

"Sure thing, Rinko-chan!" Iori say with big smile, before she gestured towards the others. "Here let me introduce the others!" First she pointed at a girl with dark blue hair done in a side ponytail. "First there is Ayaka-chan!"

"Nice to meet you, Rinko-chan." Ayaka greeted with a somewhat meekly head bow, that Yamato also returned. At first glance it seemed that Ayaka was the cordial yet respectful kind of girl.

"This here is Nasshi." Iori continued with a girl with reddish brown hair down in a bob cut that reached to her shoulders.

"Hi, I'm Yukari but Iori insists on calling me like that." The girl said somewhat embarrassed by the petname. "She says it sounds cute but…"

"I think it is cute too." Yamato said suddenly, and then realized how rude she had been for interrupting. "Sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"No, No, it's fine." Yukari reassured, while her red cheeks remained. "You can call me like that if you want to."

"Really? You don't mind?"

"It's fine."

Taking that as a cue, Iori continued with the next girl. "Then there's Chi-chan" She was a stoic looking girl what was short and petite as Yamato. She had long light brown hair styled in pigtails.

"I'm Chizuru." She gave a curt head bow and nothing else. It seemed that she was as aloof as Iori was excitable.

"And finally but not least there's Alice-chan!" Iori introduced the last last girl, and suffice to say she had the most striking appearance of them all. She had extremely long platinum blond hair styled in high twin tails. Could she be a foreigner? With a name like that, it was most likely the case. Or maybe she was a hāfu?

"Hi, I'm Alice!" She said without a hint of an accent. "I know it may be a weird name…" the blond continued as if reading Yamato's mind.

"I think it is a very cute name!" Yamato reassured. "I think it fits you very much Alice-chan."

Alice stared at Yamato with a surprised look before she formed a grin with her mouth. "Way cuter than Nasshi, right?"

"H-Hey!" Said girl made her displeasure known, making the rest of the girls giggle. And Yamato couldn't help but also smile for a bit.

As the group of girls continued talking, often bringing Yamato in with Questions or asking her about her opinion, the self-declared frail girl managed to forget all about her doubts and fears for at least a bit.

(—)

After having a nice lunch with Iida and Uraraka, Izuku finally was able to not lose himself into his worries about Yamato-san. For now they were put to the side since after lunch, it came the afternoon portion of their classes. Their daily Foundational Heroics Studies.

And their teacher for that day was none other than…

"IT'S MEEEEE!" Than the number one hero in all of Japan. "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

"HE'S HERE!

"I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S OUR TEACHER!

"ALL MIGHT!"

Despite knowing the man personally for almost a year now, Izuku was equally as excited as his fellow classmates. So much he almost missed what he was saying to the class.

"LET'S JUMP RIGHT INTO IT! BATTLE TRANING!"

Excitement ran through the class at the mention of combat. Some much more excited by the prospect than others. For example Izuku and Bakugo were poor opposites. While the green head was apprehensive since he still had trouble with his Quirk, the Ashy Blond was thrilled oozing exhilaration.

"And to go with that are these!" From the wall rows of numbered briefcases came out. "Costumes and gear made based on your Quirk Registrations." If some were apprehensive about the Battles, at the mention of costumes and gear, any doubt there was instantly disappeared. "After you change, gather at Ground Beta!"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Way shorter than last chapter. But we are introduced to Yamato's new friends, which I promise they will serve a purpose. So, when I was writing this, I thought that instead of creating a bunch of OC's I would instead borrow some characters from another show/manga I enjoy.**

 **A internet cookie to whoever gets it right.**


	12. Humble Pie

**Chapter 12**

"Ya seem to be in a better mood!" Iori noted once Yamato and the rest returned from lunch back to their classroom, 1 - E.

"Huh?" Yamato turned to the Kansai girl with a genuine look of confusion at the out of the blue comment. "What do you mean?"

"Well, When I saw ya back at the Hall, ya looked so lost." Iori explained. "Like there was somethin' eatin' ya from the inside."

Yamato stared agape. Just how did Iori could possibly know? Was she that easy to read? Had she being so out of it that she had being projecting her innermost feelings for everyone to see? That would be SO embarrassing!

As if she was reading her mind, Iori was quick to reassure her. "Don't ya worry! I'm just good at readin' folks. I'm sure none of the girls even noticed!"

Well, that was reassuring for sure.

"Thank you." Yamato said sincerely. "Having me join you girls, it helped."

"Don't mention it." Iori gave a her a big smile before leaning in slowly. "If by any chance you wanna speak 'bout it, I'm all ears." She said in a whisper and end it with a little wink.

Yamato giggled at that. Despite just meeting her, Yamato felt that Iori was a very nice person that you could confide in. Maybe if she spoke with her, Iori could help her with her dilemma.

"You see what happened was…" As she was about to start talking about her issue, the teacher decided to make his presence now.

"Now, now, settled down. It's time for your lesson."

Yamato sighed and Iori gave her a look that said not to worry, that they would continue their conversation later.

Once seated at their desks, and after the teacher took quick attendance, the lesson was underway. Yamato was able to pay much more attention than in previous lessons that morning. It seemed that talking and spending time with the girls really did wonders for her.

Suddenly she felt her cell phone start vibrating. Seeing as the teacher had his back turned to the board writing, Yamato dared to open up her phone and she what caused the vibration.

It was a text. From Iori!

Yamato and the girls had exchange numbers before lunch ended, and Iori's look promised they would continue their talk. But Yamato hadn't expected to continue so soon! And in the middle of the lesson, nonetheless.

 **Iori:** It's fine. The teacher looks like he pays more attention to the book than the students. We can talk freely.

 **Rinko:** Are you sure?

 **Iori:** Cross my heart.

Looking at the teacher, Yamato could see what Iori meant, since he was focusing on the books and talking on and on instead of looking back at their students. So as long as they pretended to follow the reading, they could continue talking uninterrupted.

' _Maybe it's better this way_.' Writing it down for Iori to read would feel less embarrassing than telling it to her face to face.

 **Rinko:** The truth is… I've been distracted because of my boyfriend.

As soon as she sent that text she received several in response.

 **Ayaka:** Boyfriend?

 **Alice:** Alice is surprised. Never expected you to have one.

 **Nasshi:** Rinko-chan! You already have a boyfriend!?

 **Chizuru:** !?

 **Alice:** Is he at least cool?

 **Nasshi:** Since when?!

 **Ayaka:** Is it true you have a boyfriend, Rinko-chan?

Before Yamato could do anything in response she received another message.

 **Iori:** I'm so sorry! I accidentally added you into our group chat!

There was no going back now. The cat was out of the bag.

[-]

Changing into their respective costumes had been a quick and easy affair for most everyone. Sure, some wore more elaborated outfits than others, but there was no denying the aura of excitement everyone had at finally enjoying one of the most flashy aspects of being a Hero.

The costumes were made by U.A.'s Costume Subsidy, which gathers the students reports on Quirks and body specs and then send them to an affiliated company that turns that data into reality – within reason, of course.

While everyone had various degrees of joy or satisfaction with their costumes, Izuku couldn't help but smile with a introspective look at his.

"Mom…" Unlike the rest of his classmates, his suit was given to him by his mother. A Green Jumpsuit that honestly wasn't that cool nor that efficient. Yet within it held his mom's heart and feelings: the regret and sadness for not being able to do more for him to support his dream, and the cheer and pride for his accomplishments. He could feel their weight while holding the suit.

"You did plenty enough…" Despite never vocally supporting his dream to become a Hero, he always felt her love every single day in his life. And this costume was no different.

' _It suits me just fine._ ' He'll be proud to wear it.

After finally putting on the suit, he also equipped himself with White gloves, black elbow and knee pads, a red utility belt and a special mask he had requested to the Costume Subsidy, to finalize his look.

Once he was ready he made his way to Ground Beta, with the rest of his classmates, whom all looked amazing with their Hero Costumes.

"Ah! Deku-kun! Called Uraraka wen she saw him arrive. "You look great. Your costume looks very practical."

"Thanks, Uraraka-san…" He said a little sheepish. He didn't know if she was being honest, or was just trying to spare his feelings. "You look um…" He tried to return the compliment, but found himself hesitating to do so. Why? Because despite the accessories she had on, she was also wearing a skintight suit that really showed off her curves. "I-I like the colors, and your helmet is really cool." He said managing to remain composed after overcoming his initial surprise. If he could endure shopping clothes with Yamato, then this was nothing.

"You think so?" She smiled while also overcoming her own self-consciousness, at how tight her costume looked. "I should've been a bit more specific with my design. Like you and your Bunny Ears!"

"Yeah…bunny ears…" Funny enough this wasn't the first person to make that mistake. Yamato also called them that when he showed her his designs for the costume. And just like with his girlfriend, he didn't have the heart to correct Uraraka. Also the patches on his shoulders that had been added didn't help matters.

"I'm liking everyone's styles, really cool!" All Might complimented as he admired each and every one of his student's costumes. Then his gaze came upon his disciple. Had he not known Izuku for as long as he did and his Otaku tendencies and admiration towards him, All Might would've called the mask with a big grin and the ear-like protrusions on his costume, a transparent attempt at emulating him. But when he saw two obviously added bunny head patches on his shoulders – most likely Young Yamato's handiwork – it really gave a complete 180 to these features.

' _Sorry Midoriya, my boy. I don't know if commend your for your dedication to your girlfriend or feel sorry for you._ ' Because honestly, you had to be very much in love or completely whipped to be carrying around cute bunny heads from your girlfriend as part of your Hero costume.

"Sensei, regarding the performance ground we'll be using is the mock-city from the entrance exam," A student wearing various pieces of white armor with decorative mufflers, over a back one-piece suit said standing next to Izuku. "Would we be conducting urban battles again?" By the tone of his voice, the Green head recognized him as Iida.

' _Wow, Iida-kun looks so stylish and cool._ ' It was the sort of suit that would go very well with the general public. 'J _eez, I could totally see action figures of him being made when he goes pro._ '

"Well be moving two steps forward from that." All Might assured. "While Villain-Clean Up is mostly seen out in the open, statistics show that most act of villainy happen indoors." He informed to the surprise of many in the class. "In this Hero society of ours, the villains with intelligence stuck to the shadows." If only it fighting true evil was as easy as it was depicted in the news, All Might thought almost sad. "For this test you'll be divided into Villain and Hero groups, FOR A TWO-ON-TWO BATTLE!" He announced with a mighty shout at the end to pump up his students, with various degree of effectivity.

"What about Foundational Training?" asked a girl with a frog-like appearance. With her aloof look it was difficult to gauge if she was worried or excited.

"This is real combat to understand those basics." The Hero explained. "However, this time there will be no robots you can destroy without haphazardly."

"How will the winners and losers be determined?"

"Can we just blow them up anyway?"

"Will there be punishment of expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei?"

"What will be the best way to split into groups?"

"Doesn't this cape look killer on me?"

Question after question came flying at All Might. It seemed that his attempts at inspiriting them had mixed results.

"I'll answer all of your questions!" Thankfully All Might was prepared with a little script to help him explain the exercise. In a nutshell, the Villain group will defend the objective and avoid capture, while the Hero Group would have to reach it or capture both villains before the time limit. "And teams will be selected by drawing lots!"

"Is it that way of selection too haphazardly?!" Iida wanted to protest believing that a place like U.A. would use more sophisticated methods.

"Well, Pros often have to create make-shift team-ups with Heroes with other agencies that they don't know too well. Maybe this is a way to test that random factor." Izuku tried to give reason behind what was actually a very simple and time-saving method of grouping. Luckily this explanation was enough to placate Iida.

"U.A. really looks ahead…" Iida said totally buying Izuku's make-shift explanation."Please excuse my rudeness!" He apologize with a big bow towards All Might, who just accepted it not wanting to break the young man's illusions.

"It's fine! Let's start this!"

The entire classroom drew lots to see with whom they'll pair up. In another time and other world, Izuku would've teamed up with Uraraka as Team A, but in this world he ended up pairing with Iida as Team D.

"Please take good care of me, Midoriya-kun!" Iida gave the shorter boy a respectful boy despite Izuku's insistence that there wasn't need to be so formal.

´ _Besides, that should be my line!_ ' Izuku had no idea where Iida got this idea that he was this sort of talented or insightful hero, but he didn't have it in himself to tell him otherwise.

"I guess we're a team." Uraraka said towards Bakugo, hoping they could get along. "Please to have you, my name is-"

"Just don't stand on my way, Round Face." The ashy blond interrupted her mid introduction dismissing her completely.

"R-Round Face…?" The Rosy cheeked girl balked at the way he addressed her. Her face wasn't that round, was it?

"And the first teams to do combat are…!" All Might began drawing lots again. "Team A will be Heroes and Team D will be villains!"

That meant Izuku would have to fight against his childhood friend turned bully, Kacchan. And by the looks of it, Kacchan was disturbingly excited by the prospect.

"Oh, crud."

[-]

Inside the building were the mock battle was to be held, there was a big bomb with the form of a missile, or maybe a cartoony rocket ship, made out of Papier-mâché. It made have seem simple, but it was expertly crafted that you could almost confuse it with the real deal.

Except for the weight of course.

"This may be only a training exercise, yet it pains me to be a villain. Though I suppose we just need to defend this thing." Iida said as he inspected the Nuclear Core. "Perhaps do you have any strategies to help us win this-"As he turned around to face the other boy, Iida stopped when he saw how tense his teammate looked. "M-Midoriya-kun! Are you feeling alright?! You look very tense!"

"Oh no. No, no, no. Sorry it's just… we are against Kacchan… and Uraraka-san too." Izuku said. Although he was sure Uraraka was a fine opponent, he was mostly worried about his childhood friend turned bully. "I guess… I do feel tense."

"Was Bakugo-kun who started calling you with that demeaning name, correct?" The spectacled boy recalled the Green head's words from yesterday. "What sort of relationship do you have with him?" Could it be that of a bully and a victim? It was hard to believe since Midoriya possessed an incredible Quirk, even if it had the drawback of hurting him.

"It's sort of complicated." A complete understatement to say the least. "I resent him a lot, but at the same time I admire his ambition, his drive, his Quirk, his strength… he is better than me in a hundred different ways…" Izuku confessed with a sigh, but then his tone suddenly changed. "And this time, despite all that, I fell like… I don't want to lose to him." He said with a determined look that matched his tone and words.

Meanwhile, Iida remained respectfully silent processing what Midoriya just told him. Saying that their relationship was complicated was doing it a favor. The bluenette had no experiences whatsoever that could help him relate with his teammate's words.

"Sorry for babbling on like that, especially since it has nothing to do with you." Izuku apologized scratching the back of his head feeling self-conscious by his tirade. Just as Iida was about to tell him there was no need to apologize, Izuku continued. "You asked about strategies before, right? I think I have an idea."

Iida remained silent as he listed to Izuku's plan of action.

[-]

"A lay-out map of the building… I guess we have to commit it to memory…" Uararaka said out-loud hoping to cut down the intense silence that had formed between her and her partner. "It doesn't seem like there will be any penalties like with Aizawa-sensei. That's a relief."

At this point she might've as well be talking to a rock for they would've been better listener than Bakugo was at the moment.

"Hey, Round-Face!"

Better listener and nicer conversationalist too.

"My name isn't Round-Face!" Uraraka protested. Her face wasn't THAT round after all. "I'm Ura-"

"Like I give a sh*t about the name of an extra!" The ashy blond rudely interrupted her. "You're friends with that sh*tty nerd Deku right? Did he tell you about his Quirk?"

Despite how rude he was being, Uraraka decided to answer him, believing him to be focused on strategizing for the test. "Not really. He never mentioned it nor did I ask him about it. But we all saw it yesterday, it was pretty flashy." Bakugo's only response was to frown. "Don't you know Deku-kun from before? Shouldn't you know already?" Apparently this was the wrong thing to say because Bakugo's face turned angrier.

"THAT F*CKING NERD!" In his mind there was only one explanation. Deku had been lying to him this whole time. Looking down on him! That was unforgivable!

[-]

Back on the monitor room, All Might and the rest of the members of Class 1-A watch the live feed from inside the building were the mock battle would take place. There was only visuals, with only All Might being able to hear them thanks to the transceiver he had on his ear.

' _You may be my disciple Midoriya, my boy. But that doesn't mean I won't grade you harshly like the rest of your classmates._ ' So there was no favoritism in play. Izuku was just like any other student during this trial. Speaking of which… "Watch carefully and formulate strategies on your own." He imparted to the students.

Yep. That's how it was done.

[-]

 ***BOOM!***

"That's Kacchan alright." Izuku said to himself as he walked through the hallways of the building alone. Never being one for subtlety his childhood friend definitely came busting through the front door, instead of sneaking around many of the blind spots this building had.

"Just like expected."

"DEKUUUUUUUUUU! SHOW YOUR F*CKING FACE!" The explosive voice of Kacchan echoed through the hallways.

"Bakugo-kun! You shouldn't have busted in like that!" Uraraka tried to admonish her teammate, but it feel on deaf ears. Bakugo was blinded by his fury.

 _*TAP TAP TAP*_

"THERE!" Bakugo launched an explosion down the hallway where he heard the noise. Once the smoke dissipated, it showed the hallway to be empty.

"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!"

 _*TAP TAP TAP*_

 ***BOOM!***

Same result.

"COME FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!" He launched an explosion down another hallway without the need to hear for other signs of Deku's presence. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!"

"Bakugo-kun!" Uraraka was bold enough to grab the explosive boy by the shoulder.

"You got to calm down! We are her to recover the Core, not to fight Deku-kun!"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled at her moving his whole body out of her reach. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF MY WAY!"

"AND I TOLD YOU WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER!" Uraraka ended up yelling, frustrated that he kept ignoring what she was saying. "WE NEED TO RECOVER THE CORE TO WIN! DON'T YOU WANNA WIN?"

Those words were enough to give Bakugo a pause. Sadly it was on momentarily. "THEN YOU DO THAT WHILE I BEAT THE SH*T OUT OF DEKU!"

"So split up then?" The Gravity Quirk User asked taking his words as some sort of makeshift on the go kind of plan.

"WHATEVER! JUST DO IT!" He huffed walking up one of the hallways in search for Deku.

"Fine." She puffed her cheeks in indignation for been Yelled at so much and move his opposite direction.

Meanwhile Izuku, came out of his hidden spot and started following Uraraka as stealthily as possible. It seemed that all those notes he had about Kacchan were finally bearing fruit. He predicted that his former friend would want to come for him and beat him up before trying to go for the objective. Still, Bakugo's desire to be the best at everything and always win forced him to acknowledge Uraraka for long enough to instruct her to proceed with the retrieval, in his own very rude way of course.

That's why he volunteered to do this alone and left Iida to guard the Core. Izuku would provide enough distraction for Bakugo to keep him in the lower floors, while Iida dealt with Uraraka; then once the Gravity User was subdued, the two of them could try and double team the ashy blond. Still, there was the dilemma of Bakugo getting bored of chasing after shadows or him minding the time limit that he would just decide to drop his vendetta against Deku and go for the objective. That would meant that Izuku would have to confront Kacchan face to face to buy time for Iida to deal with Uraraka or risk the whole thing become a free-for-all battle (Izuku was convinced that neither team would be able to coordinate effectively with Bakugo throwing explosions all over the place) for the core.

Of course, Iida insisted of being the one to go down below while Izuku defended the objective. But Izuku managed to persuade him by pointing out how much of a disadvantage he would find himself in not-so-wide linear corridors against the large area-of-effect damage Bakugo's Quirk posed. No, Iida was better suited fighting in an area with enough space for his speed and agility could come into play fully.

So for now, Izuku would stick to the initial part of the plan and let the timer run its course while following Uraraka to mask his presence against Kacchan. Hopefully they could win this match without the need of a major fight breaking out.

Suddenly Izuku felt a shiver down his spine that sent goose bumps all over his body.

"Found you…"

It was incredibly how two simple words could incite so much dread inside of Izuku. He knew an explosion was soon to follow, but he never expected there would be another person CAUGHT alongside him on the receiving end.

"URARAKA!"

"DEKU-KUN!?"

"DIE!"

 ***BOOM***

[-]

It took a while, but Yamato managed to get her story out to her friends while avoiding detection from their teacher and the mired of questions the girls sent her way every time

she wrote something new.

It wasn't the full story, but they appear to get the picture. Her boyfriend was in the Hero Course, and he was a strong, kind, noble and cool guy she liked very much, but her family didn't approve of her dating an aspiring-hero. And she had been second guessing what was best not only for everyone.

 **Ayaka:** If you ask me, I think there is no win-win situation here.

 **Chizuru:** Agreed. There is no one answer that would keep every one happy.

 **Alice:** Alice thinks that Rinko should think not of others but what SHE wants.

 **Nisshi:** Alice-chan's right. What is it that you want Yamato-san?

 **Iori:** What would make you happy, Rinko-chan?

What did she want? She wanted everyone to be happy. But like the girls pointed out, there was no easy answer that would grant her that wish. She had to decide for herself. To decide what she wanted. What would make HER happy?

 **Rinko:** I want to be with him.

 **Nisshi:** Well, there you have it!

 **Alice:** Alice thinks you've been overthinking this. Who cares what your family thinks?

 **Ayaka:** If he makes you happy, then you should stay with him.

 **Alice:** Cut and claw your way through if you have to in order to get what you want!

 **Rinko:** But what if they're right? What if I'm not ready for that kind of relationship? Especially with someone who wants to become a hero.

 **Iori:** The only one who can tell if you are ready is yourself, Rinko-chan.

 **Ayaka:** Iori-chan is right.

 **Chizuru:** The only obstacle is yourself.

 **Nisshi:** Don't let doubts wight you down! Go on and fight for what you want!

 **Alice:** Never tell yourself that you shouldn't or you can't.

 **Iori:** I believe you can do it.

 **Nisshi:** Don't let go of what makes you happy!

 **Chizuru:** Be strong.

 **Alice:** If you aren't strong then work at it over and over and over again until you are.

 **Ayaka:** I'll cheer you on!

 **Iori:** We all cheer you on! Isn't it right, girls?

 **Chizuru:** Right.

 **Ayaka:** Of course!

 **Nisshi:** Without fail!

 **Alice:** Yep.

Yamato got misty eyes reading their words of support. "You Girls…". It feel nice to have someone there to cheer for you when you don't know what to do. She was honestly grateful.

 **Rinko:** Thank you all.

Yamato was determined. Once classes were over she would go towards Class 1-A to meet Izuku be honest to him about everything. Nothing would stand in their way.

[-]

Once the dust settled down, and the ringing on his ears had stopped, Izuku had a few choice of words he had to share with Kacchan.

"Are you crazy!?" Izuku lifted his head towards Kacchan, showing his gritted teeth. "You could've hurt Uraraka!"

He knew this was a trial that All Might had given them permission to not hold back too much, and he wasn't doubting Uraraka's abilities or strength as to believe she was too fragile to take the explosion. No, what irked him was Kacchan disregard of his teammate's wellbeing. But worse of all what bothered Izuku was that this wouldn't happened if he wasn't Kacchan target and using Uraraka's to hide himself.

So in a way, he was partly to blame for this. And this fact didn't sit well on his gut.

"D-Deku-kun…?!" The Gravity user stared unbelievingly at the boy who currently was on top of her. Deku had pushed her away and cover her from the explosive attack sent by her supposed partner, at the risk of injury and despite being opposite teams. ' _He didn't have to do that._ ' Not only was he helping an 'enemy' but he was putting himself at a huge disadvantage. For all intents and purposes, what the boy had done was foolish. ' _Yet, he most likely didn't think about that._ ' No, Deku just saw that she was going to be caught in the line of fire and without thinking about himself he acted to protect her. ' _And he got hurt because of it._ '

Indeed, half of his mask was missing, torn away by the explosion, and the exposed flesh showed small red marks caused by the heat. Thankfully they were so minor that couldn't be considered actual burns.

"It's not my fault she's not fast enough to react to my warning." Bakugo said as she stalked closer to his prey. Now that he had Deku on his sight, he would take his time beating his ass and teach him a lesson.

' _What warning!?_ ' All he said was 'found you' before yelling ´DIE!' as he detonated an explosion. But there was no time for Izuku to voice his thoughts, he needed to be ready for the next attack. "You should get out of here." He urged the girl as he got up his feet from being over her. "This fight is between Kacchan and me." He should've known this is how it was gonna be from the beginning. Whenever Kacchan resolve himself to do something, he always managed to do so, and he was determined to kick his teeth in.

"B-But Deku…" Uraraka wanted to protest. But for what reason she wasn't sure. On one hand she felt the need to point out that was his opponent on this trial and she had the opportunity to capture him by joining forces with her partner. On the other hand she wanted to tell him she was afraid of what would happen to him if he were to fight Bakugo head on, after seeing the blond's anger first hand.

Unfortunately she was silenced by Bakugo pouncing forward like a lion towards an injured gazelle, except than instead of sharp claws and pointy teeth, it was an explosion ready to blow Deku away. "She won't get hurt if you don't dodge!"

She couldn't believe it! He was using her as collateral to get at Deku! That… that fiend! And he says he wants to be a hero? And Deku. What would he do? Would he jump out of the way to protect himself or would he take the explosion head on to protect her?

Izuku moved. Not out of the way as one would've suspected given the situation he was in. Instead he moved towards Bakugo and then grabbed the ashy blond by the arm.

' _Did this sh*tty Nerd just read me!?_ ' Bakugo was shocked by this sudden action and then he was thrown out of balance and over the green head's shoulder unto the hard cold floor, backside fist. The sound of his body hitting the floor reverberated throughout the whole floor stunning Uraraka in place.

' _He did it. He somehow did it._ ' Deku was placed in a tough spot with two undesirable options, and instead of breaking under pressure and accept defeat, he went for a third option and came up on top.

Thought she had already seen him in action back on the Entrance Exam when he saved her from the 0-Point Villain, this turnabout cemented something in her mind.

' _Deku-kun is amazing!_ '

Meanwhile Izuku breathed heavily, feeling the high of adrenaline through his body. "Kacchan, you always lead with a big right swing. I can't count how many times I've seen you do it…" He informed his former friend as he was trying to get back up from the floor. "I analyzed and took notes of every Hero I thought were amazing… that include you…!" Why was he telling him this? There was nothing to gain from it. He could've tried and capitalize the position Kacchan was in by attacking or by fleeing. Instead he stayed and telling him this. Something that he had been waiting to tell for some time now.

"The same notes you blew up and tossed away…!" He still remembered that day. Even though he resented the blond for doing that to the notes he work so hard for, he couldn't hate him for it. Because that was the day everything changed for him. And inadvertently Kacchan had played a big part on what Izuku had managed to become so far. So in a small way, he was grateful. But on the other hand… "I am no longer the Deku that is good for nothing…!" That sentiment didn't cover so many years of bullying on the blond's part. "I am the Deku that never gives up!"

 _'How's that taste of Humble Pie?'_

As Deku stood over his former Bully, Uraraka remained staring at him, remembering her conversation from the other day.

 _"But you know, I kinda like the name Deku for you! It gives a 'Never Give Up' vibe, you know!"_

Had her words really had such an effect for him? If so, it was flattering, for sure. And also kind of sweet. But then why she felt her face turn a bit hot on the cheeks?

"NOW I'M REALLY PISSED!" Bakugo shouted once he was back on his feet.

" _Midoriya-kun! Is everything alright!? I've heard so many explosions!_ " Iida's worried voice came through the transceiver Izuku had on his ear. Lucky him it wasn't on the same side of his face that got grazed by the explosion that torn half of his mask.

"Please keep guard on the Core while I engage Kacchan." Izuku answered back to his teammate, reminding him to keep his post.

" _Engage?! Midoriya-kun you should-_ " Whatever was it that Iida wanted him to tell him, Izuku couldn't quite catch it because Kacchan was on the offensive once more.

"Get out of here, Uraraka-"

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AWAY!" Using an explosion to propel himself forward, Bakugo launched a powerful kick towards Deku, who dared look down on him by paying attention to others in the middle of battle!

Deku managed to block the kick in the nick of time, but because of the added momentum from the explosion the kick still hit him hard. For a second, he believed that Kacchan might've actually broke his arm.

As this was happening, Uraraka heeded Deku's instructions. Seeing that she would be nothing more than a distraction for the two boys duking it out. Besides, the objective was still to retrieve the core, not beat up their opponents. If Bakugo wanted to waste time fighting Deku, then so be it. Hopefully Deku would get in some well deserved hits on Bakugo, especially after the blond used her as collateral.

"Not so full of yourself now!" Bakugo gloating only lasted a moment, before he realized that his leg had been captured by white tape. A Proof-of-capture that one would have to wrap their opponents with in order to "capture" them, and remove them from the rest of the trial.

Fearing capture, Bakugo acted with haste and tried again with a big swing from his right arm. And like before, Izuku managed to avoid his blow once again, but at the price of letting the blond slip from the capture tape.

For a moment, Izuku felt vindicated for all those years of taking notes on Heroes' quirks and techniques. He studied his notes so hard and spent so long internalizing them, he could almost visualize the moves on his mind before they happened.

' _Still, things won't be easy for me._ ' Izuku couldn't use 100% of One For All's power or he risked not only injuring himself but also Kacchan. And he didn't have enough time to concentrate to be able to use 1%, and even if he could he doubted it would help much against Bakugo. So he could only rely on his normal strength and on his mind.

 _'I need a plan, quick!'_ Taking advantage of Kacchan's momentary lost of balance after overshooting his big right arm swing, Izuku ran away. Not the manliest of strategist nor the most heroic, but standing his ground against a physical superior opponent, who had so much firepower, without a plan was foolish at best, suicidal at worst.

"GET BACK HERE DEKU!" Kacchan tried to gave chase but Izuku was out of sight. Not that this would deter him from catching up and beating the Nerd down until he begged for mercy.

"YOU TRICK ME DIDN'T YOU?!" Bakugo shouted. "WERE YOU LAUGHING AT ME ALL THIS TIME?! YOU HAVE A FLASHY QUIRK, DON'T YOU? TRY AND USE IT AGAINST ME, SINCE I'M BETTER THAN YOU!"

Izuku knew Kacchan was trying to bait him into coming out of hiding and into a confrontation. Something that would spell doom for him. Yet hearing the sense of betrayal behind the angry words of his former childhood friend, made him hesitate.

"It is not like that, Kacchan…" Izuku whispered to himself to try and combat the heavy feeling inside his guts. Doing his best to try and ignore that feeling, Izuku decided to call Iida on the transceiver. "Iida-kun, be ready. Uraraka-san is on her way to the core. She's all alone but be careful of her Quirk."

[—]

" _Be careful of her Quirk_."

"Roger." Iida confirmed. As he awaited for either his teammate or his opponents to arrive. Iida had been trying to get into a Villain Mindset for this trial. If head to play the villain he ought to do so to the best of his abilities.

"I need to wreathe myself in darkness to become… EVIL!" He spoke to himself in a deeper tone of voice to try and get into character, and after doing so he heard a strange sound coming from one of the pillars at the corner of the room.

"So you have come, Uraraka-kun." Still, even if he was pretending to be a villain he continued to use proper honorifics. Making his attempt to appear villainous more comical than it should. "As predicted by Midoriya-kun you have come alone!" Iida continued his little monologue sounding more and more confident as he went on. "Yours is a Quirk that causes whatever you touch to float, and with that in mind…" He opened his arms in a grandiose manner and showed her the floor of the entire room. "I counter you by clearing this whole floor from anything you can use as a weapon! There would not be any tricks you can try!" He then pointed towards the gravity user looking and sounding way more intimidating, to the point of actually looking as a villain. "You miscalculated when coming here, Hero! BWHA HA HA HA HA!"

Despite being at a disadvantage, Uraraka couldn't help but wonder if Iida was taking this whole trial too seriously or not seriously enough. "Bakugo! I could use some help up here in the fifth floor." She said into her own receiver. She may be still resentful of his previous actions, but there was no denying that she needed his help against someone like Iida.

[—]

" _I could use some help up here in the fifth floor._ "

"Don't you nag at me, woman! I'm f*cking pissed right now!"

" _I didn't ask you how you felt, I'm asking you to hel-_ " Bakugo just turned off the transceiver. He had no time to waste listening to her nagging. There was a nerd to kill. And after not finding him at the first floor, he decided to go up the stairs to find the fleeing coward once and for all.

Meanwhile, Izuku remained hidden. I his mental count was correct then the timer was already down to 5 minutes or so, for the heroes to retrieve the core or lose. Despite his gut telling him to go out and confront Kacchan for his erroneous idea about him, Izuku listened to his brain that told him to let the clock run to win this.

' _I want to defeat Kacchan, but in my current state I wouldn't be able to do so._ ' There would other opportunities to prove himself against his former friend in the future. So for now he better focus on winning this trial.

"I'M GETTING TIRED OF HIS SH*T!" Bakugo's voice echoed stronger than before. It meant that he had followed him into the second floor already.

' _Better distract him while I make my way to the 3rd floor_.' He said pulling out a few pebbles, which he would use to feign his footsteps to keep Kacchan second guessing his current position.

' _Let's do this-'_ But before he knew it, the world around him flashed white.

* **KAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!** *

[—]

"Midoriya-kun!" Iida almost shouted into his transceiver. "Are you alright!? What happened down there!? Midoriya-kun!?" It didn't take a genius that what caused such ruckus was an explosion, but unlike the previous ones, this time it shook the whole building. Just what was Bakugo and Midoriya down down there?

As he was distracted trying to get a response from Deku, Uraraka seized the opportunity to run towards Iida.

Seeing her coming, Iida put aside getting in contact with Midoriya, and tried to intercept her before she could try and get to the core. But before he could catch her, the girl used her Quirk Zero Gravity to make herself float to jump over the surprised Iida.

"She can make herself float, too!?" he only ever saw her use her Quirk on objects and other people, never to herself. If this was any other situation he would've complimented her for this move. But now, it wasn't the time because if she managed to even touch the core, it would count as being retrieved and he and Midoriya would lose.

Without any hesitation, Iida used his own Quirk, Engine and boosted his speed to retrieve the core and move it out of the way of Uraraka's descent. Which caused her to fall and roll several time on the floor until she crashed into a wall.

"I compliment you for the effort, but it is useless." Iida said still role/playing his part as a villain. "Your Quirk is no threat even if you can't touch anything but yourself! So I will hold unto this core until the time runs out!"

With his superior speed and with Uraraka without any object at her disposal. He could win this whole thing without having to launch a single attack.

"Wait! What did you say?" The gravity user asked as she got on her feet. "About me touching myself."

"Huh?" Iida was confused for a few seconds before he realized how his words could've been misinterpreted. "No wait, i didn't mean it like that!" He even broke character and started to profusely apologize.

"I don't believe you!" Meanwhile, Uraraka milked this for all it's worth. While silently waiting for Bakugo to finally show up and help her, while also hoping for Deku to be safe and sound.

[—]

Izuku wanted to hurl. The world around was not only blurry shaking all over too, his ears wouldn't stop ringing, not to mention there was dirt in his mouth. Despite feeling like this, he did his best to remove the rubble, that once was a wall, he was buried under. It took him several seconds to unburied himself and several more before he tried to get on his feet. While the nausea and lose of balance remained, the ringing in his ears was slowly going away. A quick look at himself told him that there weren't any injuries to add, beside some small scratches from the pieces of wall that fell on him. That and his right glove and sleeve of his jumpsuit was also gone, only the shoulder remaining.

"There you are." Bakugo said as he walked by the place where a wall should've stood in place, had it not being for his explosion. "What's wrong? I didn't hit you directly with it. You can still fight, can't you?" He said mockingly. "With your stalking you probably know already…" the blond lifted up one arm to show off his grenade-looking gauntlet. "My explosions are sparked by the nitroglycerin-like sweat from my palms. And these gauntlets can store my sweat." He explained enjoying the look of terror and realization on Deku's stupid face. "Now come and get me with your Quirk!"

' _He must've requested his suit like that in order to increase his power and range._ ' That was so very like Kacchan; realizing a limitation of his Quirk and have it turn into a strength. Ingenuity like that was one of the reasons why Izuku admired him so. ' _Still, that was overkill! That explosion felt more like an eruption!_ ' Another one of those and he would be literally toasted. _'Is this even allowed?!'_

As if a god above had heard his words, All Might's voice suddenly came to both Izuku's and Bakugo's transceivers. " _Young Bakugo! If you shot another blast like that, I'll end this exercise forcibly and you will lose. Launching an attack with such an extensive image radius while indoors defeats the purpose of this exercise! Bringing the building down on top of yourselves is foolish, no matter if your a Hero or a villain!_ "

Well, good news was that Bakugo couldn't use that attack against him. The bad news was that Bakugo could and would still try and kick his ass, massive attack or not.

"Iida-kun! Have you captured Uraraka-san yet?!" Izuku asked desperately unto his transceiver. " Because I could use your help down here!" Knowing his luck, he was sure he was wasting his time with this. But hey, hoping is free of charge.

"Let's fight with our fists then!" Bakugo launched himself forward thanks to the power of his explosions. In the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of Izuku.

' _Can't dodge! Gotta counterattack!_ ' He just had to time it just right so he could-

 ***Boom***

A small explosion suddenly blinded him, and then a second later he felt the burn of another explosion on his back.

"HERE COME YOUR BELOVED RIGHT SWING!" Bakugo then delivered a powerful blow to Izuku's arm, making it crack. "DEKU!" But the ashy blond wasn't done yet! He proceeded to grab him by the arm and using the added momentum of an explosion he swung the green head over his shoulder "YOU ARE BENEATH ME!" and slammed him into the ground.

Despite the massive pain he was feeling, Izuku was still capable of thought. ' _It's no use. He won't let me think let alone concentrate to use 1% of One For All. He's too strong…_ ' That meant that the only thing he could do to win this was to use his Quirk at full power.

Recovering the best he could, Izuku started to crawl on all fours, away from Bakugo, who just watched his pathetic attempt of running away. After reaching a wall, he used it to pull himself up and face Bakugo once more, but to the many onlookers of the fight, it seemed that he had just cornered himself into his doom.

"Why won't you use your Quirk!" Bakugo demanded getting tired of this whole charade. "Are you looking down on me?!"

"No…"

"Ever since we were little kids, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT!" Looking him down with THAT expression! At HIM! HE WAS BOVE DEKU! Deku was only a pebble on the side of the road. The least amazing of them all. "YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME, F*CKFACE!?"

"That's not it!" Izuku managed to say, unable to hold back anymore. "Kacchan, it's because you are so amazing that i want to beat you!" Didn't he noticed how much he admired him? How much he wanted to be like him? To be as strong, as confident and as driven. "I WANT TO WIN AND SURPASS YOU, YOU DUMBASS!" He yelled as he tore off the rest of his right sleeve with his left hand.

But it seemed that his words only help to infuriate Kacchan even more.

"DON'T YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, YOU DAMN NERD!"

They both run at each other, ready to put an end to this right there and then. Izuku knew that in a One-on-One fight against Kacchan he would. He couldn't use the Full Power of OneForAll against him for fear of killing his former friend. But this wasn't One-on-One, and losing this fight didn't meant losing the battle.

"DETROIT SMASH!" Izuku screamed as he bear an explosion point black at the same time he unleashed the full power of his quirk by swinging downwards, his punch producing enough wind pressure to destroy the floor underneath their feet making them fall back down to the first story.

Once the building stop shaking and the dust settled down, both Izuku and Bakugo found themselves surrounded by rubble that once was the entirety of the second floor.

"You…!" Bakugo gritted his teeth, seeing the destructive power Deku had been keeping secret. "From the very start… you were looking down on me…!"

"I wasn't going to use it…" Izuku said, both his arms in a terrible state. The left one burned by blocking the point-blank explosion from Bakugo's attack and the right arm turned to an ugly shade of reddish brown as proof of the recoil damage from using his Quirk's full power. "My body isn't capable of bearing the strain from this Quirk…" He tried to explain, to make Kacchan understand he wasn't looking down on him. That what he was thinking was was the furthest from the truth. "Aizawa-sensei told me too, but I… this was the only thing I could think of.."

Bakugo just stared at him, not sure what to think or believe at the moment.

The suddenly came a voice from all of the transceivers. "TIME'S OVER!" It was All Might's voice. "The Villain Team Wins!"

And with that, Izuku took it as a cue to finally let himself fall unconscious. And on the hand of the arm he used to block Kacchan's last explosion he led on tight to a piece of cloth with a bunny head patch on it.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Man, this was another long chapter. I initially wanted to skip this whole Trial, but I was convinced that the pacing would suffer a bit. So, since I couldn't skip it, I decided to shake the canon events a bit. (Not too much, mind you).**

 **In fan fiction, this trial almost always remain the same. I wish to see some variations of it in the future. Like with Naruto Fanfiction and the Chunnin Exam.**

 **Come on! Where's Koda and Bakugo vs Izuku and Mineta as Hero and Villain teams respectively?**

 **Also, shout-outs to MrSuperTrololol and an unnamed Guest who answered correctly where I borrowed Yamato's friends from. If you haven't watched or read Tsurezure Children, I strongly recommend to check it out!**


End file.
